title: Inhibition of aldose reductase and xylose-induced lens opacity by puerariafuran from the roots of Pueraria lobata.
abstract: High sugar levels found in diabetic cataract cause the opacification of lenses by osmotic changes induced via the aldose reductase (AR)-mediated polyol pathway. In this study, puerariafuran, a 2-arylbenzofuran from Pueraria lobata, investigated the inhibitory effects upon AR, antioxidant contents and enzyme activities in the lens. The effect of puerariafuran on xylose-induced lens opacity was also examined. Puerariafuran showed potential inhibitory activity with an IC50 value of 22.34 microM against rat lens AR. The xylose-induced opacity of lenses was significantly improved when treated with puerariafuran. Xylose exposure of rat lenses significantly decreased the reduced glutathione (GSH)/oxidized glutathione (GSSG) ratio, superoxide dismutase (SOD), and catalase (CAT) activity and treatment with puerariafuran significantly increased these factors. These results suggest that puerariafuran may provide a potential therapeutic approach for prevention of diabetic complications, such as cataracts.
authors.affiliation: Diabetic Complications Research Center, Division of Traditional Korean Medicine Integrated Research, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Nan Hee
authors.initials: NH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Young Sook
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yun Mi
authors.initials: YM
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Dae Sik
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Jang
authors.forename: Jin Sook
authors.initials: JS
authors.lastname: Kim
mesh_terms: D000449:Aldehyde Reductase / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000633:toxicity; D000818:Animals; D001572:Benzofurans / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002386:Cataract / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000378:metabolism / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D018517:Plant Roots; D029908:Pueraria; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D014994:Xylose / Q000037:antagonists & inhibitors* / Q000633:toxicity
chemical_list: D001572:Benzofurans; D010936:Plant Extracts; C514034:puerariafuran; D014994:Xylose; D000449:Aldehyde Reductase