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The cruciferous vegetables are richest sources of isothiocyanates and among them, allyl isothiocyanate (AITC) is one of the major constituents. It has been known to possess various activities of therapeutic interest. Keeping this in view, the present study was planned to investigate antioxidant capacity of AITC using Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity (CUPRAC) Assay, 2, 2'-azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulphonic acid (ABTS) assay, β-Carotene bleaching (BCB) assay and superoxide anion scavenging assay. The antimutagenic potency of AITC was determined by modifying Vibrio harveyi bioluminescence assay against direct acting mutagen 4-nitro-o-phenylenediamine (NPD) and indirect acting mutagens 2-acetylaminofluorene (2-AAF), 7,12-Dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) in presence and absence of S9. Furthermore, the antihemolytic activity was evaluated using hemolysis assay. Among the different activities carried out, it was observed that AITC exhibited efficient antimutagenic potential against direct acting mutagen NPD and indirect acting mutagens 2-AAF and DMBA in the presence as well as absence of S9 fraction in Vibrio harveyi bioluminescence assay. Overall, our results established the efficiency of AITC to act as strong antimutagenic agent, efficient anti-hemolytic agent and mild antioxidant agent thus, making AITC an interesting candidate to be further explored for drug discovery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The toxicity induced by 7, 12-dimethylbenz(α)anthracene (DMBA) has been widely delineated by a number of researchers. This potent chemical damages many internal organs including liver, by inducing the production of reactive oxygen species, DNA-adduct formation and affecting the activities of phase I, II, antioxidant and serum enzymes. Glucosinolate hydrolytic products like isothiocyanates (ITCs) are well known for inhibiting the DNA-adduct formation and modulating phase I, II enzymes. Sulforaphane is ITC, currently under phase trials, is readily metabolized and inter-converted into erucin upon ingestion. We isolated erucin from Eruca sativa (Mill.) Thell. evaluated its hepatoprotective role in DMBA induced toxicity in male wistar rats. The rats were subjected to hepatic damage by five day regular intraperitoneal doses of DMBA. At the end of the protocol, the rats were euthanized, their blood was collected and livers were processed. The liver homogenate was analyzed for phase I (NADPH-cytochrome P450 reductase, NADH-cytochrome b5 reductase, cytochrome P450, cytochrome P420 and cytochrome b5), phase II (DT diaphorase, glutathione-S-transferase and γ-glutamyl transpeptidase) and antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, catalase, guaiacol peroxidise, ascorbate peroxidise, glutathione reductase and lactate dehydrogenase). The level of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances, lipid hydroperoxides, conjugated dienes and reduced glutathione in the liver homogenate was also analyzed. The serum was also analyzed for markers indicating hepatic damage (alkaline phosphatase, serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase, serum glutamic pyruvic transaminase, direct bilirubin and total bilirubin). Erucin provided significant protection against DMBA induced damage by modulating the phase I, II and antioxidant enzymes. The histological evaluation of liver tissue was also conducted, which showed the hepatoprotective role of erucin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]