In Vitro Antioxidant Response of the Equine Blood Treated by Extract Derived from Leaves of Ficus Sagittata Vahl (Moraceae)

Abstract

The current study aimed to investigate the oxidative stress biomarkers, such as 2-thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), aldehydic and ketonic derivatives of oxidatively modified proteins, and total antioxidant capacity, as well as antioxidant defenses (activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, ceruloplasmin) in the equine erythrocytes and plasma to evaluate the antioxidant activities of the aqueous extract derived from leaves of Ficus sagittata Vahl collected at two Botanic Gardens, i.e. M.M. Gryshko National Botanic Garden (Kyiv, Ukraine) and the Botanic Garden of Ivan Franko National University in Lviv (Lviv, Ukraine). Freshly collected leaves were washed, weighed, crushed, and homogenized in 0.1M phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) (in the proportion of 1 : 19, w/w) at room temperature. The extracts were then filtered and used for analysis. A volume of 0.1 mL of the plant extracts was added to 1.9 mL of clean equine erythrocytes or plasma (the final concentration of the extract was 5 mg.mL^-1). For positive control, 0.1 mL of phosphate buffer (pH 7.4) was used. The treatment of equine plasma and erythrocytes by extracts derived from leaves of F. sagittata resulted in reduced carbonyl derivatives of the oxidatively modified protein. When equine erythrocytes were incubated with the extract derived from leaves of F. sagittata collected in NBG (Kyiv), the TBARS levels were significantly increased compared to the untreated samples. The incubation of equine plasma with an extract derived from leaves of F. sagittata resulted in an increase in the activity of antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase with a simultaneous decrease of ceruloplasmin level. The level of total antioxidant capacity was significantly increased after the treatment by extract derived from leaves of F. sagittata collected in NBG. However, further detailed investigation, especially in vivo and in vitro antioxidant studies is needed to justify the use of extract derived from leaves of F. sagittata as a natural source of antioxidants.