Protective Effect of Red Beetroot against Carbon Tetrachloride- and N-Nitrosodiethylamine-Induced Oxidative Stress in Rats

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the potential protective effect of beetroot juice in a model of oxidative stress induced by N-nitrosodiethylamine (NDEA) and carbon tetrachloride (CCl(4)). Male Wistar rats were treated with beetroot juice per os, 8 mL/kg/day for 28 days, and a single i.p. dose of the xenobiotics: 150 mg/kg NDEA or 2 mL/kg CCl(4). Simultaneously, two groups of rats not pretreated with juice were given only each of the xenobiotics. The level of microsomal lipid peroxidation in the liver, expressed as TBARS concentration, was increased several fold in rats administered only NDEA or CCl(4). TBARS were decreased by 38% only in rats pretreated with beetroot juice before the administration of CCl(4). In animals pretreated with juice and receiving NDEA, a further increase in TBARS occurred. All of the investigated antioxidant enzymes were inhibited by the administration of either toxicant alone by 26%-77% as compared to controls. Pretreatment with juice caused a partial recovery in the activity of glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase, by 35% and 66%, respectively. Superoxide dismutase activity was increased about 3-fold in animals pretreated with juice. Both xenobiotics caused a rise in plasma protein carbonyls, which were reduced by 30% in rats pretreated with juice and then injected with NDEA. Similarly, DNA damage in blood leukocytes caused by either toxicant was slightly diminished, by 20%, in the rats treated with juice before NDEA administration. It could be concluded that pretreatment with beetroot juice can counteract, to some extent, xenobiotic-induced oxidative stress in rats.

Anti-diabetic Potentials of Red Beet Pigments and Other Constituents

“…The key markers measured in these studies were lipid peroxidation and activity of antioxidant enzymes (catalase, SOD, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase). Additionally, treatment with red beet juice has also protected leukocyte DNA against damage, suggesting multiple roles for red beet phytochemicals (Kujawska et al 2009 ) .…”

Effect of red beetroot (Beta vulgaris L.) intake on the level of some hematological tests in a group of female volunteers

“…A number of studies report that beetroot, in the form of a juice supplement, protects against oxidative damage to DNA, lipid and protein structures in vitro (Pietrzkowski et al, 2010;Kujawska et al, 2009;Winkler et al, 2005). A study by Wootton-Beard and Colleagues suggests that a key mechanism by which beetroot juice exerts its antioxidant effects is by scavenging radical species .…”

A Systems Biology Approach for Identifying Hepatotoxicant Groups Based on Similarity in Mechanisms of Action and Chemical Structure

“…While structural similarity does not guarantee similar gene expression responses, literature review does suggest that these compounds should share some common mode of action. For example, all four compounds are metabolized by the cytochrome P450 metabolizing enzyme CYP2E1 and/or alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) causing oxidative stress which (partially) explains their hepatotoxic effects [47][48][49][50][51][52]. An explanation for the scattered clustering in the meta-analysis could lay in the fact that some essential information in the gene expression metaanalysis may get lost since we found that some compounds did cluster similarly to the protein target z-scores and Tanimoto scores when a distinction was made based on, for example, dose and exposure time (results not shown).…”