In vivo antioxidative capacities of rapeseed meal polysaccharides

Author: Hanju Sun ^*, Shaotong Jiang, Pan Mu and Ding Qi

Received 8 January 2009, accepted 19 March 2009.

Abstract

In the current research, rapeseed meal was first defatted with petroleum ether and removed coloured and low molecular weight compounds with 95% (v/v) ethanol in turn. It was then extracted with 9 vol of 0.3% NaOH aqueous solution, followed by several purification steps. The resulted polysaccharides were daily administered to mice via a gastric gavage at doses of 50, 100, and 200 mgkg^-1 BW, respectively, for 30 days. Vitamin C and α-tocopherolwere used as positive controls. After the experimental period, the in vivo antioxidative capacities of PRM were evaluated using different assays, including glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and malondialdehyde (MDA). These antioxidant indexes were also compared with those of standard antioxidants (vitamin C and α-tocopherol). The results indicated that PRM markedly increased the activities of GSH-Px, CAT and SOD and T-AOC levels and decreased MDA levels. The findings suggest that PRM have strong in vivo antioxidant capacities and may be recommended as health food in the future.

Key words: Rapeseed meal, polysaccharide, mice, in vivo, antioxidative capacity.