Effects of anapsos on the activity of the enzyme Cu-Zn-superoxide dismutase in an animal model of neuronal degeneration

The enzyme Cu-Zn-SOD is a metalloenzyme that catalyzes the dismutation of the superoxide radical into hydrogen peroxide and molecular oxygen, being a defense system against free radical formation. Free radical reactions are implicated in a variety of physiological and pathological processes as aging, apoptosis and neurodegenerative diseases, and abnormalities associated with SOD have been recently documented in several neurodegenerative processes. In this study, we have evaluated the effect of anapsos on Cu-Zn-SOD activity in rats with injections of beta-amyloid protein or water bilaterally into the hippocampus. These injections caused severe cell depletion in the gyrus dentatus. Anapsos is a biological extract obtained from the fern Polypodium leucotomos with immunomodulatory and anti-neoplastic effects tested in animals and humans. Cu-Zn-SOD activity was measured in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, cerebral cortex, liver and spleen of rats treated i.p. with three doses of anapsos for 7 days (4, 20 and 100 mg/kg/day). Control animals were treated with saline solution under the same conditions. Anapsos significantly modified enzyme activity in all the areas tested. Lower doses of anapsos produced decreased SOD activity in the hypothalamus, hippocampus, liver and spleen, while in the cerebral cortex, a significant dose-dependent increase in SOD activity was observed. These results indicate that anapos was able to modify Cu-Zn-SOD activity in this animal model of neuronal degeneration, which may indicate the participation of anapsos in mechanisms of tissue repair after brain damage.