Oxidative Stress and Role of Natural Plant Derived Antioxidants in Animal Reproduction

The experimental knowledge on the role of oxidative stress,and beneficial and detrimental effects of plant derived antioxidants in male and female animal reproduction are reviewed in this article.Free radical-induced oxidative stress in animal reproduction causes great loss to livestock industry.Antioxidant therapy has been implicated to be effective in preventing diseases resulted from oxidative stress.Considering the advantages of lower side effects of natural antioxidants than those of synthetic antioxidants,plants or their extracts have been extensively utilized in animals.Although many advances have been gained on application of plant derived antioxidants in alleviating oxidative stress,debatable issues still exist.Because many opposite effects were observed even using plant extracts containing similar bioactive substances in the same animal species.Therefore,plant derived antioxidants,like free radicals,are ＂double-edged swords＂ in animal reproduction,representing that they may exhibit beneficial or detrimental effects in animal reproduction,including spermatogenesis,semen functions,estrous cycles,ovulation,ovary functions,endometrium,embryo development,and pregnancy.Besides dose-dependent manner as an explanation of plant extracts＇ dual function,future studies are needed to investigate the mechanism of double-edged actions of plant derived antioxidants in different animal reproduction systems.

Comparative and quantitative analysis of antioxidant and scavenging potential of Indigofera tinctoria Linn. extracts

OBJECTIVE：To compare and elucidate the antioxidant effi cacy of ethanolic and hydroethanolic extracts of Indigofera tinctoria Linn.（Fabaceae family）.METHODS：Various in-vitro antioxidant assays and free radical-scavenging assays were done.Quantitative measurements of various phytoconstituents,reductive abilities and chelating potential were carried out along with standard compounds.Half inhibitory concentration（IC50）values for ethanol and hydroethanol extracts were analyzed and compared with respective standards.RESULTS：Hydroethanolic extracts showed considerably more potent antioxidant activity in comparison to ethanol extracts.Hydroethanolic extracts had lower IC50values than ethanol extracts in the case of DPPH,metal chelation and hydroxyl radical-scavenging capacity（829,659 and 26.7μg/m L）but had slightly higher values than ethanol in case of SO2-and NO2-scavenging activity（P〈0.001 vs standard）.Quantitative measurements also showed that the abundance of phenolic and fl avonoid bioactive phytoconstituents were signifi cantly（P〈0.001）greater in hydroethanol extracts（212.920 and 149.770 mg GAE and rutin/g of plant extract respectively）than in ethanol extracts（211.691 and 132.603 mg GAE and rutin/g of plant extract respectively）.K arl Pearson’s co rrelation analysis（r2）between various antioxidant parameters and bioactive components also associated the antioxidant potential of I.tinctoria with various phytoconstituents,especially phenolics,fl avonoids,saponins and tannins.CONCLUSION：This study may be helpful to draw the attention of researchers towards the hydroethanol extracts of I.tinctoria,which has a high yield,and great prospects in herbal industries to produce inexpensive and powerful herbal products.

Antibacterial and Antioxidant Activities of ZnO Nanoparticles Synthesized Using Extracts of Allium sativum,Rosmarinus officinalis and Ocimum basilicum

ZnO nanoparticles（ZnO NPs） were synthesized by chemical method（coprecipitation） and biological method using aqueous extracts of garlic（Allium sativum）,rosemary（Rosmarinus officinalis） and basil（Ocimum basilicum）.The influence of plant extract on the antibacterial and antioxidant activities of green synthesized nanoparticles was investigated.The X-ray diffraction studies reveal that all ZnO samples have hexagonal wurtzite structure.The particle size of ZnO NPs estimated by transmission electron microscopy analysis（between 14 and 27 nm） varies depending on the synthesis method of nanoparticles and the type of extracts from the plants used.The functional groups involved in the biosynthetic procedure were evidenced by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy.The presence of Mn^（2＋）ions,Zn vacancy complexes and oxygen vacancies in ZnO samples was highlighted by electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy.The green synthesized ZnO NPs have shown a good bactericidal activity against Staphylococcus aureus,Bacillus subtilis,Listeria monocytogenes,Escherichia coli,Salmonella typhimurium and Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacterial strains.ZnO NPs synthesized using extracts of the selected plant species have been found to exhibit more enhanced antibacterial and antioxidant activities as compared to chemical ZnO NPs.