ニンニク製剤およびニンニク由来イオウ化合物の抗酸化能

抄録

Oxygen radical injury and lipid peroxidation have been suggested as major causes of cancer, atherosclerosis and the aging process. We examined in vitro the effect of garlic on H₂O₂-induced oxidant injury in bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells (PAEC). After overnight preincubation with Aged Garlic Extract (AGE, from Wakunaga Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., Japan) or S-allyl cysteine (SAC), PAEC monolayers were exposed to H₂O₂ for 3 h. Cell viability (MTT assay), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) release, and lipid peroxidation (TBA-RS) were measured to assess oxidant injury. AGE (1-4 mg/ml) pretreatment significantly reduced the loss of cell viability induced by 50-100 μM of H₂O₂. AGE and SAC exhibited dose dependent inhibition of both LDH release and TBA-RS production induced by 50 μM of H₂O₂. The results show that AGE and SAC can protect vascular endothelial cells from oxidant injury. Numerous garlic compounds could be involved in the antioxidant properties of garlic, while there could be some prooxidant compounds derived from garlic. It is important to keep an array of antioxidant compounds to develop good herbal preparation, like AGE.