Monitoring of Radical Scavenging Activity of Peroral Administration of the Kampo Medicine Sho-saiko-to in Rats

Abstract

The Kampo medicine Sho-saiko-to scavenged superoxide anion radicals (O2-), hydroxyl radicals (*OH) and 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radicals in a dose-dependent fashion. We attempted to investigate the transition of free radical scavenging activity in plasma after oral administration of Sho-saiko-to in rats. From the response-time profile, kinetic parameters including values for Ka (absorption rate constant), Tmax (peak concentration time), T1/2 (half life) and MRT (mean residence time) of radical scavenging activity in plasma could be calculated for the O2-, *OH and DPPH radicals. These parameters calculated from the dynamics of antioxidation are considered a very meaningful procedure to examine the effects of Sho-saiko-to.