Abstract: | The present study reveals a sequence from an extensive experiment that intends to establish the antioxidant potential of some plants used in food processing. The avocado fruit (Persea americana Miller) may represent a valuable source of active principles that counteract the reactive oxygen species responsible, in some conditions such as pathological diseases, atmosphere charged with free radicals resulted from the water radiolysis, some meteorological phenomena, for the setting-up of the oxidative stress. The antitoxic virtues of this edible fruit are owed to the high content of glutathione, a tripeptide that counteracts the aggressive free radicals due to the thiol group, and also due to the presence of ascorbic acid and vitamin E. The experiment presented herein also intends to evaluate the antioxidant activity of the Persea americana Miller fruit in comparison with an antioxidant drug known under the trade name as Pycnogenol. The experimental model consisted of three groups of Wistar rats, with an average body weight of 333.5 g. The first group represented the reference group, whose animals were fed with standard food and maintained in the same conditions as the others. The second group was the control group, the animals being supplementary given Pycnogenol, while the third group received, besides standard food and Pycnogenol, the avocado fruit included in their daily diet in a dose equivalent to that of Pycnogenol. After five weeks of experiment, blood samples were collected and biochemically investigated for the determination of serum catalase, superoxide dismutase, and glutathione peroxidase. The results clearly emphasize the antioxidant effect of the active principles from Persea americana Miller. |
