Effect of purified saponin mixture from Astragalus corniculatus on enzyme- and non-enzyme-induced lipid peroxidation in liver microsomes from spontaneously hypertensive rats and normotensive rats

• Published in: Phytomedicine (Stuttgart) Vol. 17; no. 5; pp. 346 - 349
• Main Authors: Simeonova, R.L., Vitcheva, V.B., Kondeva-Burdina, M.S., Krasteva, I.N., Nikolov, S.D., Mitcheva, M.K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Germany Elsevier GmbH 01-04-2010; Urban & Fischer Verlag
• Subjects: Animals; Antioxidant activity; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - isolation & purification; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Ascorbic Acid; Astragalus (Plants); Astragalus corniculatus; Astragalus Plant - chemistry; Carbon Tetrachloride; Disease Models, Animal; Health aspects; Iron Compounds; Lipid peroxidation; Lipid Peroxidation - drug effects; Lipid peroxydation; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Microsomes, Liver - drug effects; Microsomes, Liver - enzymology; NADP; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Plant Extracts - chemistry; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Rats; Rats, Inbred SHR; Rats, Wistar; Saponins; Saponins - isolation & purification; Saponins - pharmacology; SHR; Spectrophotometry; Bulgaria; Astragalus corniculatus; Lipid peroxydation; SHR; Antioxidant activity
• ISSN: 0944-7113; 1618-095X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.phymed.2009.08.013

The aim of the following study was to evaluate the effect of a purified saponin mixture (PSM), isolated from
Astragalus corniculatus Bieb. (Fabaceae), on enzyme-induced and non-enzyme-induced lipid peroxidation (LPO), in liver microsomes from spontaneously hypertensive rats (SHRs) – strain Okamoto Aoki, as compared to normotensive Wistar rats (NTRs).
The enzyme-induced lipid peroxidation was performed by incubating rat liver microsomes with carbonetetrachloride (CCl
4) in the presence of NADPH. In nonenzyme-induced LPO, the microsomes were incubated with a solution of iron sulphate and ascorbinic acid (Fe
2+/AA). The effect of PSM (196.5
μg/ml) was assessed at 20 minutes’ incubation time. MDA, a product of LPO, was measured spectrophotometrically.
The results of our study showed that the initial MDA quantity in SHRs was significantly higher, than in NTRs. The incubation of the microsomes from both strains with PSM (196.5
μg/ml), resulted in significant reduction of MDA level, by 25% in SHRs. In NTRs, the formation of MDA was unchanged.
In enzyme-induced LPO model, PSM significantly decreased the formation of MDA, by 55% in NTRs and by 35% in SHRs, compared to the respective control groups. In the model of non-enzyme induced LPO, PSM significantly decreased the formation of MDA by 95% in NTRs and practically restored it to the control level. The MDA quantity in SHR's microsomes was reduced by 25%.
According to the results of this experiment we could conclude that PSM, isolated from
Astragalus corniculatus, shows antioxidant activity both in SHRs and NTRs and the effect in NTRs is more pronounced.