Effects of Medicinal Plant Extracts on Antioxidant System in Ethanol-intoxicated Rats

Abstract

Four medicinal plants selected from preliminary screening study were evaluated in the aspects of their antioxidant activities in alcohol-intoxicated rats. Rats fed 1% α-tocopherol-supplemented diet as positive control and ones done α-tocopherol-deficient diet as negative control were compared with ones done the plant extract-suppleminted diet (n=8). After the administration of the experimental diets for 4 weeks, typical increments in ctivities of manganese-superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) indicated in alcohol-intoxicated rats, were not observed in ones fed Lagerstroemia and Ulmus extract-supplemented diet. The content of thiobarbituric acid reactive substance (TBARS), the product of lipid peroxidation, did not increased in rats fed plant extracts-supplemented diet except for Terminalia. From the results, it is concluded that Lagerstroemia and Ulmus have physiologically efficient antioxidant activities.