title: Corni fructus scavenges hydroxy radicals and decreases oxidative stress in endothelial cells.
abstract: Corni fructus has been used as a tonic, analgesic, and diuretic in Korean herbal medicine. The present investigation was undertaken to evaluate the antioxidative effect of corni fructus and its capacity to protect cells against oxidative damage. The radical scavenging activity of corni fructus extracts was measured using 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), and the antioxidant activity was determined by measuring the peroxide value in a linoleic acid emulsion system. In addition, human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) were treated with corni fructus extracts and incubated with H(2)O(2) to investigate protection against apoptosis induction. Both ethanol and water extracts of corni fructus produced higher DPPH radical scavenging activity than hexane, chloroform, and ethyl acetate extracts. Strong antioxidative activities of both water and ethanol extracts were observed in an emulsion system containing linoleic acid and phosphate buffer. The incubation of HUVECs with the addition of ethanol extract significantly decreased H(2)O(2)-initiated damage of endothelial cells, but the water extract did not. The pretreatment with ethanol extract, but not with water extract, significantly decreased apoptotic damage of the H(2)O(2)-treated HUVECs and kept the morphological normality. This study demonstrates that corni fructus is a potent antioxidant substance, and suggests that further investigation is needed to characterize the difference between extract types and to identify its antioxidant compounds.
authors.affiliation: Hotel Cuisine, Korea Tourism College, Icheon, Korea.
authors.forename: Soon-Ok
authors.initials: SO
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Sun Young
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Sag-Myung
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Han
authors.forename: Hye-Mi
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Seung-Shi
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Ham
authors.forename: Il-Jun
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Kang
mesh_terms: D000975:Antioxidants / Q000494:pharmacology; D017209:Apoptosis / Q000187:drug effects; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D002455:Cell Division / Q000187:drug effects; D029768:Cornus / Q000737:chemistry*; D004655:Emulsions; D042783:Endothelial Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000502:physiology; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide / Q000494:pharmacology; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010710:Phosphates; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D014471:Umbilical Veins
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D001713:Biphenyl Compounds; D004655:Emulsions; D016166:Free Radical Scavengers; D010710:Phosphates; D010851:Picrates; D010936:Plant Extracts; D017665:Hydroxyl Radical; D019787:Linoleic Acid; D006861:Hydrogen Peroxide; C004931:1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl