tailieunhanh - Protective eff ects of β-carotene and silymarin on human lymphocytes

Beta-carotene and silymarin have antioxidant properties against oxidative damage and are used as dietary supplements. Th e aim of this study was to assess the protective eff ects of β-carotene and silymarin on healthy human lymphocytes exposed to L-arginine-induced oxidative damage. | E. YURTCU, E. KASAPOĞLU, F. İ. ŞAHİN Turk J Biol 36 (2012) 47-52 © TÜBİTAK doi: Protective effects of β-carotene and silymarin on human lymphocytes Erkan YURTCU1, Ezgi KASAPOĞLU1, Feride İffet ŞAHİN2 1 2 Department of Medical Biology, Faculty of Medicine, Başkent University, 06530 Ankara - TURKEY Department of Medical Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Başkent University, 06570 Ankara - TURKEY Received: Abstract: Beta-carotene and silymarin have antioxidant properties against oxidative damage and are used as dietary supplements. The aim of this study was to assess the protective effects of β-carotene and silymarin on healthy human lymphocytes exposed to L-arginine-induced oxidative damage. Study samples were lymphocyte cultures set up from venous blood obtained from 6 healthy individuals (3 males and 3 females). Oxidative DNA damage was induced by L-arginine. β-Carotene and silymarin were added to the cultures as antioxidants to observe their protective effects, if any. Alkaline single-cell gel electrophoresis (SCGE) was used to evaluate DNA damage. While L-arginine generated genotoxic damage in the lymphocyte cultures, both β-carotene and silymarin had positive effects on the reversal of the induced genotoxicity. When β-carotene was applied in combination with silymarin, there was no significant change in mean tail moments in comparison to the use of β-carotene or silymarin alone. The data presented here provide a comparative, preliminary insight into the protective role of both β-carotene and silymarin on L-arginine-induced genotoxicity in in vitro lymphocyte cultures. Key words: L-arginine, β-carotene, silymarin, lymphocytes, comet assay, oxidative damage Beta-karoten ve silimarinin insan lenfositleri üzerindeki koruyucu etkisi Özet: Diyete ek olarak kullanılan beta-karoten ve silimarinin oksidatif hasara karşı koruyucu antioksidan etkileri bilinmektedir. Bu çalışmada insan lenfositlerinde L-arjinin ile oluşturulan oksidatif .