Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the in vitro antioxidant activity of sanguinarine (SAN). The 2,2-diphenyl-
1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) radical scavenging activity of SAN was measured, and the protective effect against oxidative
damage and carbohylation of bovine serum albumin (BSA) induced in Cu2+/H2O2 and 2,2-azobis(2-amidinopropane
dihydrochloride) (AAPH) system was examined. The 2-thio-barbituric acid (TBA) method was applied to determine the
protective effect of SAN against FeSO4-induced oxidative damage of soy lecithin and AAPH-induced oxidative damage of
herring sperm DNA. The results showed that SAN effectively removed DPPH free radicals in a dose-dependent manner, with
a clearance rate of 85.94% at a concentration of 100 μmol/L. Adding 1 to 100 μmol/L SAN could significantly protect BSA
against oxidative damage induced by Cu2+/H2O2 and AAPH system, and adding 10 to 100 μmol/L and 0.1 to 100 μmol/L
SAN could significantly protect BSA against carbonylation damage induced by Cu2+/H2O2 and AAPH system, respectively.
SAN significantly protected soy lecithin against FeSO4-induced oxidative damage and protect herring sperm DNA against
AAPH-induced oxidative damage in the range of 6.25–100 μmol/L. In conclusion, SAN can effectively scavenge free
radicals, inhibit oxidative protein damage and carbonylation, and suppress lipid and DNA oxidative damage.

Key words: sanguinarine, free radical, oxidative damage, carbonylation, antioxidant activity