A better approach to endogenous SOD and catalase upregulation?

[Guest guest]

Here's a shiny fresh study on the subject.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstr\

act & list_uids=16413416 & query_hl=1 & itool=pubmed_docsum>

>1: Free Radic Biol Med. 2006 Jan 15;40(2):341-7. Related

>Articles, Links

>

>The induction of human superoxide dismutase and catalase in vivo: A

>fundamentally new approach to antioxidant therapy.

>

> SK, Bose SK, Grunwald GK, Myhill P, McCord JM.

>

>Webb-Waring Institute for Cancer, Aging and Antioxidant Research,

>University of Colorado Denver Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO

>80262, USA; Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver

>Health Sciences Center, Denver, CO 80262, USA.

>

>A composition consisting of extracts of five widely studied

>medicinal plants (Protandim) was administered to healthy human

>subjects ranging in age from 20 to 78 years. Individual ingredients

>were selected on the basis of published findings of induction of

>superoxide dismutase (SOD) and/or catalase in rodents in vivo,

>combined with evidence of decreasing lipid peroxidation. Each

>ingredient was present at a dosage sufficiently low to avoid any

>accompanying unwanted pharmacological effects. Blood was analyzed

>before supplementation and after 30 and 120 days of supplementation

>(675 mg/day). Erythrocytes were assayed for SOD and catalase, and

>plasma was assayed for lipid peroxidation products as thiobarbituric

>acid-reacting substances (TBARS), as well as uric acid, C-reactive

>protein, and cholesterol (total, LDL, and HDL). Before

>supplementation, TBARS showed a strong age-dependent increase. After

>30 days of supplementation, TBARS declined by an average of 40% (p =

>0.0001) and the age-dependent increase was eliminated. By 120 days,

>erythrocyte SOD increased by 30% (p < 0.01) and catalase by 54% (p <

>0.002). We conclude that modest induction of the catalytic

>antioxidants SOD and catalase may be a much more effective approach

>than supplementation with antioxidants (such as vitamins C and E)

>that can, at best, stoichiometrically scavenge a very small fraction

>of total oxidant production.

>

>PMID: 16413416 [PubMed - in process]

What's particularly interesting to me is that catalase was increased

appreciably more than SOD.

The study was small, however, with only 29 people, and while I don't

know how well the rest of the study was designed, the fact that blood

was analyzed only three times is unfortunate. I'd say that this is

little more than food for thought except that there's already a fair

amount of information out there on the individual ingredients of this product.

The product itself <http://www.protandim.com/> is ridiculously

expensive ($45 for a 30-day supply) but you can roll your own for a

small fraction of that if you so choose. Here are the ingredients:

Milk Thistle extract 70-80% Silmarin 225mg

Bacopa Moniera extract, 45% bacosides 150mg

Ashwagandha Powder 150mg

Green Tea, 98% Polyplenols 45% EGCG 75mg

Tumeric extract, 95% Curcumin 75mg

I'm sure you're all familiar with milk thistle, but I recently

learned that preparations of the plant itself (as opposed to just the

seed) have estrogenic activity, so you might want to stick to the seed.

Bacopa is decently established as an antioxidant upregulator, an

antiinflammatory, a memory enhancer, etc. Here's a PubMed

search. <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?CMD=search & DB=pubmed>

Ashwagandha is a reputed adaptogen, increases thyroid hormone

production, and stimulates neuron growth.

Here's one neuron study, but there are a couple

more.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstr\

act & list_uids=12395110 & query_hl=13 & itool=pubmed_docsum>

>1: Neuroreport. 2002 Oct 7;13(14):1715-20. Related Articles,

>Links

>

>Axon- or dendrite-predominant outgrowth induced by constituents from

>Ashwagandha.

>

>Kuboyama T, Tohda C, Zhao J, Nakamura N, Hattori M, Komatsu K.

>

>Research Center for Ethnomedicines, Institute of Natural Medicine,

>Toyama Medical and Pharmaceutical University, Toyama, Japan.

>

>We previously reported that the methanol extract of Ashwagandha

>(roots of Dunal) induced dendrite extension in a human neuroblastoma

>cell line. In this study, we found that six of the 18 compounds

>isolated from the methanol extract enhanced neurite outgrowth in

>human neuroblastoma SH-SY5Y cells. Double immunostaining was

>performed in rat cortical neurons using antibodies to phosphorylated

>NF-H as an axonal marker, and to MAP2 as a dendritic marker. In

>withanolide A-treated cells, the length of NF-H-positive processes

>was significantly increased compared with vehicle-treated cells,

>whereas, the length of MAP2-positive processes was increased by

>withanosides IV and VI. These results suggest that axons are

>predominantly extended by withanolide A, and dendrites by

>withanosides IV and VI. Copyright 2002 Lippincott & Wilkins

>

>PMID: 12395110 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

And a thyroid

study.

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?cmd=Retrieve & db=pubmed & dopt=Abstr\

act & list_uids=9811169 & query_hl=18 & itool=pubmed_docsum>

>1: J Pharm Pharmacol. 1998 Sep;50(9):1065-8. Related Articles,

>Links

>

>Changes in thyroid hormone concentrations after administration of

>ashwagandha root extract to adult male mice.

>

>Panda S, Kar A.

>

>School of Life Sciences, D.A. University, Indore, India.

>

>The importance of ashwagandha root extract in the regulation of

>thyroid function with special reference to type-I iodothyronine

>5'-monodeiodinase activity in mice liver has been investigated.

>Although the root extract (1.4 g kg(-1)) administered daily for 20

>days by gastric intubation increased serum 3,3',5-triiodothyronine

>(T3) and tetraiodothyronine (T4) concentrations and hepatic

>glucose-6-phosphatase activity, hepatic iodothyronine

>5'-monodeiodinase activity did not change significantly.

>Furthermore, ashwagandha root extract significantly reduced hepatic

>lipid peroxidation, whereas the activity of antioxidant enzymes such

>as superoxide dismutase and catalase were increased. These findings

>reveal that the ashwagandha root extract stimulates thyroidal

>activity and also enhances the antiperoxidation of hepatic tissue.

>

>PMID: 9811169 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

And I'm sure you're all familiar with green tea and curcumin.

Something to think about, anyway.

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