Supplementation of Pueraria radix water extract on changes of antioxidant enzymes and lipid profile in ethanol-treated rats

Background: Water extract of Pueraria radix (PRWE), traditional oriental medicinal plant, may have an effect on the activity of hepatic antioxidant enzymes and lipid profile in ethanol-treated rats. Methods: Male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into control, ethanol, PRWE and ethanol-PRWE supplemented groups. Twenty-five percent (v/v) ethanol (5 g/kg body weight) was orally administered once a day for 5 weeks. The PRWE was supplemented in a diet based on 1500 mg of raw PRWE/kg body weight/day. Results: Ethanol feeding resulted in a higher alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) activity and lower aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) activity. After PRWE supplementation, both activities were increased. The PRWE supplementation resulted in a significant decrease in the plasma and liver total cholesterol concentrations in the ethanol-treated rats. Ethanol administration significantly lowered the activities of hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), whereas it increased the plasma and hepatic thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and the hepatic glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) activities. However, PRWE supplementation resulted in a significant increase in the SOD and CAT activities and a significant decrease in the TBARS and the GSH-Px activities in the ethanol-treated rats. Conclusion: PRWE can contribute to alleviating the adverse effect of ethanol ingestion by enhancing the lipid metabolism as well as the hepatic antioxidant defense system. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.