Abstract:

Dried pine needles were extracted with 20% of ethanol three times and then the collected extract was concentrated in a rotary evaporator. The effects of the extract concentrate on myocardial free radical metabolism and ultrastructure in mice after exhaustive exercise were investigated. A total of 40 Kunming mice were randomly divided into two groups: sedentary group and exercise group, and each group was further divided into two subgroups orally administered with the pine needle extract and not, respectively. The mice were continuously administered with the extract for 20 days and then subjected to exhaustive swimming. The levels of supersoxide dismutase (SOD), total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in myocardium were measured. Significant elevation in the activities of SOD and T-AOC were found accompanied with the pronounced reduction of MDA content. These data suggested the protection effect of pine needle extract on myocardium from oxidative damage.

Key words: pine needle extract, myocardium, SOD, T-AOC, MDA, ultrastructure