title: Dragon's blood and its extracts attenuate radiation-induced oxidative stress in mice.
abstract: Dragon's blood (DB) possesses great medicinal values due to the presence of several phenolic compounds. This study was designed to investigate the effects of DB and its extracts (DBEs) on oxidative stress in mice exposed to whole body (60)Co-γ irradiation (4 Gy). DB and DBEs were intragastrically administered to mice for 5 d prior to radiation. The antioxidant activities, including malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione (GSH) levels in liver and spleen were measured using kits. Furthermore, DB and DBE effects were determined by organ indices and histology of liver and spleen. Our results indicated that the DB and DBE-treated groups showed a significant decrease (P < 0.05) in levels of MDA in liver and spleen compared with the irradiation-only group. Moreover, the activity of SOD, CAT and the level of GSH in liver and spleen tissue were enhanced significantly (P < 0.05) in the DB and DBE groups. DB and DBE also had a significant effect on the recovery of thymus indices. The histological observations of groups having treatment with DB and DBE indicated significant reduction in the radiation-induced damage to the liver and spleen, together with improvement in the morphology of the liver and spleen. These results suggest that DB and DBE treatment prevents radiation-induced oxidative stress injury and restores antioxidant status and histopathological changes in the liver and spleen, but there is need for further study to explore the precise molecular mechanism and strategy for optimal practical application of DB and DBE.
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yuanyuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Ran
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Ran
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: The General Hospital of the People's Liberation Army (Hospital 301), Beijing 100853, China.
authors.forename: Qian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Qiutian
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Jia
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Murtaza
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hasan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Muhammad Umer Farooq
authors.initials: MU
authors.lastname: Awan
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Bo
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Rui
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yiming
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.affiliation: China Institute of Atomic Energy, Beijing 102413, China.
authors.forename: Xiao
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Lanzhou Institute of Modern Physics, Lanzhou 730000, China.
authors.forename: Qiang
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Ma
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China.
authors.forename: Yulin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: School of Life Science, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing 100081, China hqing@bit.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Qing
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D005720:Gamma Rays / Q000009:adverse effects; D008099:Liver / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects; D008297:Male; D051379:Mice; D008807:Mice, Inbred BALB C; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000528:radiation effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013154:Spleen / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism / Q000528:radiation effects
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011837:Radiation-Protective Agents; C525191:dragon's blood
keywords: dragon's blood; irradiation; oxidative stress; radioprotective effects