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ANANBIOANAL - 2010
Pharmaceutical R & D Summit
doi:10.4172/2155-9872.1000019
Biochemical and Immunological Basis of Silymarin, a Milk Thistle
(Silybium Marianum) Against Ethanol-Induced Oxidative Damage
Subir Kumar Das
Department of Biochemistry, ESI-PGIMSR, Joka, Kolkata, India
T
he metabolism of ethanol gives rise to the generation of excessive amount of
reactive oxygen species and is also associated with immune dysfunction. We
examined the efficacy of silymarin on the immunomodulatory activity and vascular
function in mice with liver abnormalities induced by chronic ethanol consumption by
measuring the protein, liver-specific transaminase enzymes, antioxidant enzymes
and non-enzymes such as reduced glutathione (GSH) content, thiobarbituric acid
reactive substance (TBARS) level, nitrite level, and activities of superoxide dismutase
(SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione peroxidase (GPx)
and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and cytokines such as interleukin (IL)-2, IL-4,
IL-10, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-a, gamma interferon (IFN-g), vascular endothelial
growth factor (VEGF)-A and transforming growth factor (TGF)-b1 in mice blood.
Ethanol (1.6 g/kg body wt/day) exposure for 12 wks significantly increased TBARS
and nitrite levels and GST activity, and significantly decreased GSH content and
the activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx in whole blood hemolyzate of 8-10 wks-
old male BALB/c mice (weighing 20-30 g). Ethanol exposure also elevated the
activities of transaminase enzymes (AST and ALT), IL-10, TNF-a, IFN-g, VEGF-A
and TGF-b1, while decreasing the albumin concentration and IL-4 activity in the
serum. Silymarin treatment significantly reduced AST, ALT, GST, IL-10, TNF-a,
IFN-g, VEGF-A and TGF-b1 activities and levels of TBARS and nitrite, and elevated
albumin content, GSH level and activities of SOD, CAT, GR and GPx, compared to
ethanol-treated group. The results suggests that silymarin can effectively ameliorate
ethanol-induced oxidative challenges, immunomodulatory activity and angiogenesis
processes.
ANALBIOANAL-2010
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