Positive Health Online

Abstract

KAWAI and colleagues, Department of Neuroscience, Institute of Molecular and Cellular Medicine, Okayama University Medical School, Japan. mokawai@cc.okayama-u.ac.jp. studied, in rats, the effects of Manda, a yeast fermented product of several fruits and black sugar, upon lipid peroxidation, as a model of ageing .

Background

Methodology

Senescent rats were provided with a diet of 50g/100g Manda for 8 days, supplemented on day 8 with an intragastric administration of Manda (6 g/kg body weight) twice daily. The authors measured the hydroxyl radical scavenging activity by electron spin resonance spectrometry.

Results

Manda had an additive inhibitory effect upon lipid peroxidation compared with control adult rats not given Manda. Incubation of homogenates with Manda significantly inhibited the increase in lipid peroxides (malondialdehydes and 4-hydroxyalkenals) levels in aged rats caused by auto-oxidation. Additionally, oral administration of Manda significantly suppressed the age-related increase in lipid peroxidation in the hippocampus and striatum, although no corresponding change was observed in the cerebral cortex. Although Manda contains trace level of alpha-tocopherol, the level of alpha-tocopherol in Manda did not correlate with its antioxidant effect.

Conclusion

These data suggest that Manda protects against age-dependent oxidative neuronal damage caused by oxidative stress and that this protective effect may be due, in part, to its free radical scavenging activity.

References

Kawai M et al. Manda, a fermented natural food, suppressed lipid peroxidation in the senescent rat brain. Neurochem Res 23(4): 455-61. Apr 1998.