Anti-oxidant activities of the extracts from the herbs of Artemisia apiacea

The anti-oxidant activities of the various fractions from the herbs of Artemisia apiacea were investigated. The n-hexane and n-butanol fractions were found to cause significant free radical scavenging effects on DPPH, their scavenging potencies as indicated in IC50 values, being 230.1 and 183.7 mug/ml, respectively. The n-butanol fraction exhibited a significant decrease in serum transaminase activities elevated by hepatic damage induced by CCl4-intoxication in rats. All fractions tested exhibited a lipid peroxidation causing a significant decrease in MDA production in TBA-reactant assay. The n-butanol fraction was the strongest in the increase in the anti-oxidant enzymes such as hepatic cytosolic superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) activities in CCl4-intoxicated rats. These results suggest that the herbs of A. apiacea possess not only the anti-oxidant, but also the activities in CCl4-intoxicated rats. Especially, the n-butanol extract was found to cause significant increases in the rat liver cytosolic SOD, catalase, GSH-px activities as well as a significant decrease in the MDA production. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.