Effects of yam tuber protein, dioscorin, on attenuating oxidative status and learning dysfunction in d-galactose-induced BALB/c mice.
The yam tuber is a traditional Chinese medicine used in long-term treatment as a juvenescent substance. The purified yam tuber's major water-soluble protein, dioscorin, and its protease hydrolysates have been reported to have several biological activities. In this study, d-galactose (Gal) was subcutaneously injected into the dorsal necks of BALB/c mice daily for 10weeks (Gal group) to induce oxidative stress. By the fifth week, 20 or 80mg dioscorin/kg was orally administered daily combined with a daily Gal injection until the end of the study. The plasma malondialdehyde (MDA) level and advanced glycation end-products obtained after dioscorin oral administrations were lower compared to the Gal group. In addition, the latency and swimming distance in the mice that received dioscorin administration were significantly improved compared to the Gal group in the Morris water maze. Dioscorin administration resulted in higher GSH levels and oxygen radical antioxidant capacity (ORAC) activity and lower MDA and inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) levels in the brain compared to mice in the Gal group. These elevated antioxidant activities following oral administration of yam dioscorin in vivo may reflect traditional juvenescent uses with the potential for anti-aging treatments.
School of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chuan-Hsiao
CH
Han
Graduate Institute of Clinical Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of Nephrology, Shuang Ho Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Zhonghe, Taiwan.
Yuh-Feng
YF
Lin
Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Yin-Shiou
YS
Lin
School of Pharmacy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Tai-Lin
TL
Lee
Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan.
Wei-Jan
WJ
Huang
Department of Primary Care Medicine, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan; Department of General Medicine, School of Medicine, College of Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taiwan. Electronic address: sylin@tmu.edu.tw.
Shyr-Yi
SY
Lin
Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan; Traditional Herbal Medicine Research Center, Taipei Medical University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. Electronic address: wchou@tmu.edu.tw.
Wen-Chi
WC
Hou
D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight / Q000187:drug effects; D001921:Brain / Q000201:enzymology / Q000378:metabolism; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D027742:Dioscorea / Q000737:chemistry*; D005978:Glutathione / Q000378:metabolism; D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced / Q000097:blood; D006801:Humans; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008099:Liver / Q000378:metabolism; D008297:Male; D008315:Malondialdehyde / Q000378:metabolism; D018782:Maze Learning; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II / Q000378:metabolism; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects*; D010940:Plant Proteins / Q000494:pharmacology*
D017127:Glycation End Products, Advanced; D010940:Plant Proteins; D008315:Malondialdehyde; D052247:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type II; D005978:Glutathione
Dioscorin; Malondialdehyde (MDA); Morris water maze; Yam tuber; d-Galactose-induced oxidative damage