title: Effects of cassia oil on serum and hepatic uric acid levels in oxonate-induced mice and xanthine dehydrogenase and xanthine oxidase activities in mouse liver.
abstract: We investigated the hypouricemic effects of cassia oil extracted from Cinnamomum cassia using hyperuricemic mice induced by potassium oxonate, and its inhibitory actions against liver xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH) and xanthine oxidase (XOD) activities. Oral administration of cassia oil significantly reduced serum and hepatic urate levels in hyperuricemic mice in a time- and dose-dependent manner. At doses of 450 mg/kg of cassia oil or above, serum urate levels of the oxonate-pretreated mice were not different from the normal control mice. Cassia oil at 600 mg/kg was found to be as potent as allopurinol, which reduced hepatic urate levels to lower than normal. In normal mice, urate levels in liver, but not in serum, were altered with dose-dependent decrease after cassia oil treatment. Furthermore, the ratio, liver uric acid/serum uric acid, was determined after cassia oil administration with time- and dose-dependent decreases in hyperuricemic mice. The positive dose-dependent decrease ratio was also observed after cassia oil treatment in the normal animals. The decreased extent of ratio elicited by cassia oil in normal mice appeared to be greater than that in the hyperuricemic animal. In addition, cassia oil significantly exhibited marked reductions in liver XDH/XOD activities, with an apparent dose-dependence in the normal and hyperuricemic mice. The onset of inhibition in enzyme activities elicited by allopurinol was much higher than that elicited by cassia oil. These results suggested that hypouricemic effects of cassia oil could be explained, at least partly, by inhibiting liver in vivo activities of XDH/XOD.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Functional Biomolecule, School of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, Nanjing, PR China.
authors.forename: X
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.forename: J X
authors.initials: JX
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.forename: S F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Pan
authors.forename: L D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Kong
mesh_terms: D000284:Administration, Oral; D000493:Allopurinol / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology; D000818:Animals; D032904:Cinnamomum aromaticum; D004305:Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors / Q000494:pharmacology; D033461:Hyperuricemia / Q000097:blood / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000201:enzymology; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D010094:Oxonic Acid; D024301:Plant Bark; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014527:Uric Acid / Q000097:blood; D014968:Xanthine Dehydrogenase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D004791:Enzyme Inhibitors; D010938:Plant Oils; D014527:Uric Acid; C489337:potassium oxonate; D010094:Oxonic Acid; D000493:Allopurinol; D014968:Xanthine Dehydrogenase; D014969:Xanthine Oxidase