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According to the theory of traditional Chinese medicine, cerebral infarction results from blood stasis, and the method of quickening the blood and dispelling stasis is used to treat cerebral infarct. Salvia Miltorrhiza Bunge (SM) is a Chinese herb, which is considered to have an action of quickening the blood and dispelling stasis, and is frequently used to treat related disorders of blood stasis such as cerebrovascular accident and ischemic heart disease. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of SM on cerebral infarct in ischemia-reperfusion injured rats. A total of 30 Sprague-Dawley (SD) rats were studied. A model of focal cerebral infarct was developed by occluding both common carotid arteries and the right middle cerebral artery for 90 minutes. After 24 hours reperfusion, the rats were killed and the brain tissue was stained with 2, 3, 5-triphenyl-tetrazolium chloride (TTC). The areas of cerebral infarct were calculated, and lumino-chemiluminesence (CL) counts and lucigenin-CL counts of peripheral blood taken at this time were measured. The changes in the area of cerebral infarct were used as an index to evaluate the effect of SM on cerebral infarct. The results indicated that pretreatment with intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg/kg and 15 mg/kg SM reduced the area of cerebral infarct and also reduced the luminol-CL counts of peripheral blood in ischemia-reperfusion injured rats. This study has demonstrated that SM can reduce the area of cerebral infarct in ischemia-reperfusion injured rats, suggesting it may be useful in the treatment of cerebral infarct in humans. The therapeutic effect of SM may be partly due to its free radical scavenging activities.

Shao-Fu-Zhu-Yu-Tang (SFZYT) is reportedly beneficial to sperm. In this study, we examined sperm acrosomal activity and serum free radical changes to evaluate the possible mechanism of SFZYT. A clinical study evaluated the sperm count and motility in 36 patients with chronic prostatitis before and after treatment for 60 days. The results revealed a significant increase in sperm motility after treatment as evaluated by computer-assisted semen analysis (17.27 ± 9.00 versus 28.29 ± 10.00, p < 0.01). An increase in sperm quantity and quality was observed by count and morphology with a high-powered intravital microscope. To gain an understanding of the mechanisms that caused this effect, we assessed sperm acrosin activity levels before (10.6 μ lu/10⁶) and after medication (28.6 μ lu/10⁶)(p < 0.01). The levels of the free radicals was relatively higher before medication, 2144, compared to a normal value of 780 after medication (p < 0.01). In conclusion, SFZYT increased the motility and quality of human semen and this increase is related to an increase in sperm acrosin activity. SFZYT also works as a sperm antioxidant and antiaging agent.

The present study used in vivo rat heart to investigate (1) whether Shen-Fu (SF), a traditional Chinese formulation comprising Radix Ginseng (RG) and Radix Aconitum Carmichaeli (AC), is protective against myocardium damage due to ischemia-reperfusion injury, and (2) whether the cardioprotective effect of SF is related to scavenging of hydroxyl radicals. The model of ischemia-reperfusion injury was established by ligation of left anterior descending coronary artery for 60 minutes followed by reperfusion for 240 minutes in anesthetized rats. The size of infarction and the pathologic changes of myocardium were observed. Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and creatine kinase (CK) in serum, the amounts of malondialdehyde (MDA) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in myocardium were measured at the end of the reperfusion period. Pretreatment groups with SF (10 mg/kg), RG (9 mg/kg) and AC (1 mg/kg) inhibited the rise in MDA and LDH as well as CK, increased SOD activity, reduced the size of infarction, and improved the pathologic changes of myocardium during ischemia-reperfusion compared with the control group. The effect of SF is better than that of RG and AC. These results indicate that SF, RG and AC protect obviously myocardium against damage due to ischemia-reperfusion in rats. The cardioprotective effect of SF injection may be in part related to scavenging of hydroxyl radicals or inhibition of lipid peroxidation. SF is more effective than its separated herbal extracts prepared from RG and AC.

Two types of white wines with different places of provenience, and a few types of commercial and natural juices were chosen for preliminary studies of their antioxidant characteristics by using Electron Paramagnetic Resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. Antioxidant capacity of these samples was assessed using stable free radicals such as nitroxide radical Tempol (2,2,6,6-tetramethyl-4-hydroxypiperidine-oxyl), as a paramagnetic agent. The inhibition by antioxidants of the absorbance of the paramagnetic species was found to decrease in time with different rates, and was correlated to the antioxidant activity of the studied samples. The obtained results permit us to make a brief evaluation of the main antioxidative characteristics of the studied wines and juices samples.

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In this review, we systematically analyzed the complicated interrelationship between photoluminescent quantum dots (QDs) and reactive oxygen species of biological importance. QDs, when photoexcited, generate reactive oxygen species (ROS), which are partially blamed for the cytotoxicity of QDs. On the positive side, the ability of generating ROS by QDs are exploited in photodynamic therapy using QDs alone or in combination with QD-surface bound organic sensitizers via resonance energy transfer from QDs to the organic dyes. Lastly, depending on the chemical composition and the functionalization of the QDs, ROS are known to quench or switch-on the QD photoluminescence. The selectivity and sensitivity toward specific ROS can be achieved through judicious chemical modification of QD surface coating layers by taking into account the reactivity difference among different ROS. The flexible QD surface functionalization opens up the unprecedented possibility of designer-made nanoprobes for sensing and quantifying ROS of biological importance.

Analysis of theoretical enthalpies of formation for about 300 molecules and their fragments (free radicals, biradicals, and ions) was performed to show that the results of semiempirical, DFT, and ab initio methods must be taken with great caution. A brief review of the authors' alternative empirical methodologies for calculation of enthalpies of formation for molecules (enthalpic shift procedure) and free radicals (enthalpies of isodesmic reactions) is given.

Occurrence of electron transfer was studied for different combinations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and DNA bases as electron donors or acceptors and free radicals only as electron acceptors. Geometries of all the molecules and radicals were optimized in aqueous medium employing the polarizable continuum model. Single electron transfer (SET) and sequential proton loss electron transfer mechanisms were investigated employing Gibbs free energies of the appropriate neutral, anionic and cationic species. Barrier energies involved in these phenomena were calculated using the Marcus theory. The SET barrier energies were found to be linearly correlated with $\mathrm{\Delta }E=$ (Electron affinities of acceptors – Ionization potentials of donors). SET barrier energies from the DNA bases to the PAHs follow the order Cy $>$ Th $\approx$ Ad $>$ Gu, whereas SET barrier energies from the PAHs to the DNA bases follow the order Gu $>$ Ad $>$ Th $\approx$ Cy. Thus, guanine, among the DNA bases, is the best electron donor to the PAHs and worst electron acceptor from the same.

Zinc complexes of a series of substituted tetraphenylporphyrins containing OH-groups in the phenyl rings were synthesized. Their antioxidant capacity was estimated in reaction of the porphyrins with 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) by cyclic voltammetry. The electron absorption spectra of the all synthesized compounds before and after the reaction with 2,2′-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl were recorded. The effect of structure of the porphyrins and zinc complexes on their antioxidant capacity was discussed.

Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) modernization has been proposed for many years, but the progress is still slow due to both ideological and technical obstacles. When I went to Japan in 1989, I found Japan has made a great progress on TCM by using modern technology. Therefore, I have studied a fine extract prepared from medicinal herbs (renamed Yi-Zhi-Yi-Shou, YZYS), a prescription of Dowager Cixi’s Yanling-Yishou-Dan of Qing Dynasty, with the current drug investigation strategies. I examined its antioxidant activity both in vitro and in vivo. The in-vitro studies found that YZYS possesses strong antioxidant capacity, such as scavenging various kinds of free radicals, and inhibits free radical-induced peroxidation of brain homogenate, microsomes, mitochondria, amino acids, deoxyribose and DNA. The in-vivo study with immobilization-induced emotional stress in rats, showed that YZYS effectively inhibits stress-induced stomach ulcers and oxidative damage in plasma and the brain. In addition, YZYS is shown to be non-toxic in both acute and chronic toxicity tests. These studies demonstrate that YZYS is a potent natural antioxidant and offer theoretical evidence for the beneficial effect of YZYS on health and brain functions, and that TCM prescriptions can be studied scientifically as modern medical drugs.

The quantitative detection of reaction products at low temperature is crucial for the understanding of low-temperature chemistry, in part due to the increased importance of quantum effects as the temperature is lowered. Product information and branching ratios at very low temperatures are also vital input for astrochemical models. Early mass spectrometry experiments have allowed the detection of reaction products in a pulsed CRESU flow down to 90 K, while spectroscopic techniques have enabled the measurement of H atom branching ratios down to 50 K. Coupling CRESU flows to multiplex mass spectrometry at synchrotron facilities has already provided branching ratios between isomers formed by the same reactions below 100 K. The newly designed CRESUSOL apparatus using photoion–photoelectron coincidence detection scheme has the ability of detecting reaction products down to 10 K. Chirped-pulsed microwave spectroscopy has also appeared as a sensitive and universal technique for the detection of isomer-resolved products. The cold rotational distributions in the CRESU flow provide ideal conditions for detection of products and also give the advantage of being able to distinguish isomers of products through their rotational spectra. These universal, isomer-resolved detection techniques and others, like frequency comb spectroscopy, have only just started to be implemented to CRESU apparatuses and promise to provide a wealth of information about gas phase chemical and physical processes occurring close to the absolute zero.

Neutrophils play an essential role in the body's innate defense against pathogens and are one of the primary mediators of the inflammatory response. To defend the host, neutrophils utilize a wide range of microbicidal products, such as oxidants, microbicidal peptides, and lytic enzymes. The generation of microbicidal oxidants by neutrophils results from the activation of a multi-protein enzyme complex known as the NADPH oxidase, which is responsible for transferring electrons from NADPH to O₂ resulting in the formation of a superoxide anion (O₂^·−). During NADPH oxidase assembly and activation, cytosolic oxidase proteins translocate to the phagosome or plasma membrane, where they assemble around a central membrane-bound component known as flavocytochrome b. This process is highly regulated, involving hosphorylation, translocation, and multiple conformational changes. In this chapter, key structural and functional features of the neutrophil NADPH oxidase and its protein components are described.

Lithium (Li) and nickel (Ni) are two of the most widely used metals in various industrial applications. Since they are available for plants’ uptake from the soil, excessive plant exposure to high doses of both metals may be tolerable or not for accumulating species and sensitive species, respectively. Many plants adopt a number of powerful detoxification techniques in their fight for survival. Among them, the antioxidant defence system is a crucial mechanism that helps plants cope with toxic metals, including Li and Ni. Understanding the different approaches that plants use to activate this system can provide insights into how we can improve plant resilience and protect them from environmental stressors. Besides the natural endogenously reacting antioxidant system in the plant’s own body, exogenously applied antioxidants have proven to be effective in mitigating the negative effects of the aforementioned metals. Herein, we review the traditional as well as recent advances used in overcoming the toxicity of Li and Ni to plants.

The following sections are included:

• Introduction

• Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidants

• Vitamin E

• Nitric Oxide as an Antioxidant

• Vitamin C

• Antioxidant Network

• Aging

• Summary

• Abbreviations

• References

The following sections are included:

• Summary

• The Role of Oxidative Stress in Aging

• Reducing Oxidative Stress — Lowering Exposure to Environmental Oxidants

• Reducing Oxidative Stress — Lower the In Vivo Generation of Oxidative Free Radicals

• Reducing Oxidative Stress — Increase the In Vivo Levels of Antioxidant Defenses

• Clinical Trials on Nutritional Supplements that May Reduce Oxidative Stress

• Extending Lifespan by Lowering Insulin and Glucose Levels

• Dietary Changes and Nutritional Supplements that Counteract

• Age-Related Diseases

• Conclusions

• References

Injections of iron salts into the sensorimotor cortex, hippocampus, and amygdala of experimental animals results in chronic recurrent focal paroxysmal electroencephalographic discharges, behavioral convulsions, and electrical seizures. The induction of epilepsy may be related to generation of free radicals, lipid peroxidation of neuronal membranes, increased intracellular calcium concentrations through reverse action of sodium-calcium exchanger/reduced activity of plasma membrane or endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPases, increased release of excitatory neurotransmitters, including aspartate and glutamate, and increased influx of ions through glutamate receptors. Some of the above effects of iron can be abrogated by inhibitors of phospholipase A₂ (PLA₂) indicating that the damaging effects of iron may be due to perturbation of the lipid environment essential to normal functioning of membrane proteins. Iron in hemoglobin, or by itself, is also likely to be the cause of human epilepsy, in instances where there is increased iron load in the brain. These include subarachnoid hemorrhage, intraparenchymal hemorrhages due to head injury and stroke, malaria, human immunodeficiency virus encephalitis, and possibly, neuroleptic drug use. A reduced level of haptoglobin, a hemoglobin-binding protein, has also been observed in select kindred relatives affected with familial idiopathic epilepsy. An accumulation of iron has been observed in the motor cortex with age, and it is possible that this might contribute to the increased incidence of epilepsy among the elderly. Iron accumulates with time in rat hippocampus after kainate-induced epilepsy. The accumulation occurs in oligodendrocytes, and is likely to be a reflection of the high levels of iron in the extracellular space. The accumulation of iron is correlated with increased expression of the divalent metal transporter-1 in astrocytes in the glial scar and increased expression of heme oxygenase-1 in reactive astrocytes and microglia, as well as degenerating neurons at the edge of the scar. The increased divalent metal transporter-1 expression could lead to increased uptake of iron, followed by redistribution to the extracellular space. In this model, iron is the consequence of epilepsy, although it is possible that it can also be a cause of epilepsy. Further work is necessary to elucidate the effects of lipid peroxidation of the cellular membranes on function of membrane proteins and the role of phospholipases, including PLA₂, in perturbing the lipid environment. The possible presence of iron in the human brain after epilepsy also needs to be elucidated. The causes of dysregulation of iron in the glial scar after neuronal injury need to be studied. In addition, possible beneficial effects of iron chelators, antioxidants that cross the blood-brain barrier, or neuroprotective gene induction on epilepsy, need to be evaluated.