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Exploring the Effect of Asclepias curassavica on Markers of Oxidative Stress in Rats

  • Original Research Article
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Evidence-Based Integrative Medicine

Abstract

Objective

Extract of the aerial part of Asclepias curassavica L. (Asclepiadaceae family) was screened for both in vitro and in vivo antioxidant activity.

Methods

Different concentrations of different extracts (chloroform, ethyl acetate, methanol and hydroalcohol) of A. curassavica were investigated for in vitro antioxidant activity using the thiocyanate method. The hydroalcoholic extract exhibited the highest inhibitory activity on peroxidation, over the other organic extracts, and was subjected to further in vivo antioxidant activity. Hydroalcoholic extract was administered to rats at two different doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg for 14 days to evaluate oxidative stress parameters such as ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS) and reduced glutathione (GSH) and to evaluate antioxidant enzyme levels of Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT).

Results and Discussion

The IC50 value (31.2 µg/mL) of hydroalcoholic extract was found to be less than the standard, α-tocopherol (IC50 value 66.1 µg/mL). The hydroalcoholic extract significantly (p < 0.05) increased the FRAP on days 7 and 14 of treatment. Significant (p < 0.05) reduction of TBARS along with an increase in the SOD enzyme level in the liver and kidney at two different doses was observed. Treatment at a 500 mg/kg bodyweight dose caused a significant increase only in the level of CAT in the liver and kidney. However, there was no significant effect of TBARS, SOD and CAT in the heart, and the GSH level in liver, heart and kidney.

Conclusion

It can be concluded that the hydroalcoholic extract of A. curassavica had significant antioxidant activity, which might be helpful in preventing (or slowing) various oxidative stress-related diseases.

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Acknowledgements

Financial assistance from the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) through the Quality Improvement Programme (QIP) is gratefully acknowledged.

The authors have no conflicts of interest that are directly relevant to the content of this article.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Product Studies, Department of Pharmaceutical Technology, Jadavpur University, Kolkata, 700 032, India

    Sundararajan Raja, Haja Nazeer Ahamed, Venkatesan Kumar, Kakali Mukherjee &  Pulok Kumar Mukherjee

  2. Molecular Endocrinology Laboratory, Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, Kolkata, India

    Arun Bandyopadhyay

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  1. Sundararajan Raja
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  2. Haja Nazeer Ahamed
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  3. Venkatesan Kumar
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  4. Kakali Mukherjee
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  6. Pulok Kumar Mukherjee
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Correspondence to Pulok Kumar Mukherjee.

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Raja, S., Ahamed, H.N., Kumar, V. et al. Exploring the Effect of Asclepias curassavica on Markers of Oxidative Stress in Rats. Evid-Based-Integrative-Med 2, 87–93 (2005). https://doi.org/10.2165/01197065-200502020-00004

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