Scholarly record

ANTIOXIDANT ENZYME ACTIVITIES IN SOME CULTIVARS OF BRASSICA OLERACEA VAR. CAPITATA F. ALBA

Cristina Babeanu, Rodica Soare, Maria Dinu

Abstract

Cruciferous vegetables are rich source of phytochemicals which play an important role as a health-protecting factor. These compounds and enzymatic systems may combat oxidative stress in the human body by maintaining a balance between oxidants and antioxidants. This is particularly important because under oxidative stress excessive formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) can damage biomolecules, such as DNA, proteins, lipids and carbohydrates, and lead to numerous disease conditions. The enzyme superoxide dismutase (SOD) catalyzes the scavenging of (O?2 пїЅ) to H2O2, whereas peroxidase (POX) and catalase (CAT) are involved in reduction of H2O2 from cells. This paper set out to comparatively study four cultivars of white cabbage: Sarmalin F1, Sarmash F1, Bucharest F1 and de Buzau in order to identify those with high enzymatic activity. In order to achieve this, the enzymatic activity of catalase, peroxidase and superoxide dismutase, as well as the antioxidant activity against ABTS radical cation were determined. Total superoxide dismutase activity was measured spectrophotometrically based on inhibition in the photochemical reduction of nitroblue tetrazolium. Total soluble peroxidase was assayed by measuring the increase in A436 due to the guaiacol oxidation and the catalase activity was assayed through the colorimetric method. The capacity of extracts to scavenge the ABTS radical cation was assessed colorimetric using ascorbic acid as a standard. The obtained results show that studied enzymatic activities and the antioxidant activity against ABTS vary depending on the analyzed cultivar. For all cultivars, a high enzymatic activity was reported indicating the positive effects of white cabbage intake. The IC50 values of SOD activity were lower in Buzau cultivar and the higher values in Sarmash. The enzymatic activity of CAT and POX show the highest values for Sarmalin and Sarmash cultivars. A positive correlation is observed between antioxidant activity measured by the ABTS radical cation method and the enzymatic activity of catalase and peroxidase. The results of this study recommend introducing the investigated varieties in diet due to the rich antioxidant enzymatic properties.

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