Evaluation of the Protective Effects of Chinese Herbs against Biomolecule Damage Induced by Peroxynitrite

This work evaluates the protective effects of Chinese herbs against ONOO--induced biomolecule damage. Thirty-two Chinese traditional herbs were preliminarily screened for their ONOO--scavenging activity by the fluorometric method. The potency of scavenging activity was in the following order: Apis cerana Fabricius (Propolis) > Rosmarinus officinalis L (Rosemary) > Pseudolarix amabilis (Nelson) Rehd. (Pine Bark PE) > Echinacea Moenck. (Echinacea); the remaining twenty-eight herbs performed unsatisfactorily for their scavenging activity. The four extracts with high ONOO- scavenging activity were selected for further characterization of their inhibiting effects on DNA single breaks, tyrosine nitration and LDL oxidation. A further study of the origin of this scavenging activity on the major active components showed cichoric acid and rosemary acid to both have strong ability to scavenge ONOO-. These scavengers might be developed as therapeutic drugs for preventing ONOO--involved diseases.