Protective effects of silybin and analogues against X-ray radiation-induced damage

• Published in: Acta biochimica et biophysica Sinica Vol. 42; no. 7; pp. 489 - 495
• Main Authors: Fu, Haiying, Lin, Mingzhang, Katsumura, Yosuke, Yokoya, Akinari, Hata, Kuniki, Muroya, Yusa, Fujii, Kentaro, Shikazono, Naoya
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: China Oxford University Press 01.07.2010
• Subjects: Antioxidants - chemistry; Antioxidants - pharmacology; DNA - chemistry; DNA - genetics; DNA Breaks, Single-Stranded - drug effects; DNA Breaks, Single-Stranded - radiation effects; DNA Damage; DNA单链断裂; DNA损伤; Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; Electrophoresis, Agar Gel; Flavanones - chemistry; Flavanones - pharmacology; Hesperidin - chemistry; Hesperidin - pharmacology; Models, Chemical; Molecular Structure; Plasmids - drug effects; Plasmids - genetics; Plasmids - radiation effects; Silymarin - chemistry; Silymarin - pharmacology; X射线; 保护作用; 水飞蓟宾; 琼脂糖凝胶电泳; 类似物; 辐射损伤; free radicals; antioxidant; protection; DNA; silybin
• ISSN: 1672-9145; 1745-7270
• DOI: 10.1093/abbs/gmq045

Silybin （SLB） and similar analogues, namely, hesperetin （HESP）, naringenin （NAN） and naringin （NAR）, are believed to be active constituents of natural flavonoids that have been reported as chemopreventive agents for certain cancers. Moreover, SLB and analogues have been determined to fast repair DNA bases from oxidative damage by pulse radiolysis techniques. The present study was designed to evaluate the protective effects of SLB and analogues on soft X-ray-induced damage to plasmid DNA in vitro. The DNA damage was determined by agarose gel electrophoresis. SLB and analogues were found to protect DNA from radiation damage at micromolar concentrations. Among the compounds tested, HESP and SLB were the most effective in preventing X-ray-induced formation of DNA single-strand breaks （SSB）. A comparison of these results with other experiments showed that the ability of SLB and analogues to inhibit DNA damage in vitro correlated with the ability of the compounds to scavenge free radicals. Our work revealed that natural flavonoids, SLB and analogues may be used as potent radioprotectors against radiation damage.