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. 2011 Mar 12:17:723-30.

Dietary zerumbone prevents against ultraviolet B-induced cataractogenesis in the mouse

Bo-Yie Chen  1 , David Pei-Cheng Lin, Kuo-Chen Su, Yi-Ling Chen, Chia-Yung Wu, Mei-Ching Teng, Yuan-Ting Tsai, Chi-Yun Sun, Soo-Ray Wang, Han-Hsin Chang
Affiliations

Dietary zerumbone prevents against ultraviolet B-induced cataractogenesis in the mouse

Bo-Yie Chen et al. Mol Vis. .

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate the preventive effect of dietary zerumbone against UVB-induced cataractogenesis.

Methods: A total of 50 six-week-old female ICR mice were split into five groups (each contained 10 mice) and exposed to UVB (0.72 J/cm(2)/daily) at noon for 7 days, except for the blank control group. The mice with UVB exposure were fed with zerumbone as a dietary supplement at 0, 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg of bodyweight, respectively, starting from one day before UVB exposure. On day 7, at 4 h after UVB exposure, all mice were subjected to cataract examination and lens opacity scoring, in correlation with levels of MDA (malondialdehyde), GSH (glutathione), GR (GSH reductase), GPx (glutathione peroxidase), and SOD (superoxide dismutase) in the lens.

Results: Dietary zerumbone at 100 mg/kg after UVB exposure was effective in decreasing lens opacity scores (p<0.001) and to reduce MDA (p<0.001), while GSH and GR levels were significantly increased (both p<0.001) in the lens. SOD was also increased with dietary zerumbone at 100 mg/kg (p=0.115), whereas GPx (p=0.171) levels were lower as compared with those without zerumbone after UVB exposure.

Conclusions: These results suggest that zerumbone may protect against UVB-induced cataractogensis through reducing lipid peroxides and enhancing the endogenous antioxidant GSH level and GR activity.

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Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Zerumbone chemical structure and experimental design for dietary zerumbone supplementation after UVB irradiation to the mouse lens. A: The structure of zerumbone. B: Both of the mice eyes were exposed to UVB light (0.72J/cm2/daily) at noon for a consecutive 7-day period until sacrifice for analysis at 4:00 PM on Day 7.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Comparison and quantification of lens opacity among groups of UVB (UVB exposure without dietary zerumbone), UVB/ZER (UVB exposure with dietary zerumbone at 1, 10, and 100 mg/kg respectively), and blank control (no UVB exposure and no dietary zerumbone). A-E: Severe cataract formation was seen in the UVB-irradiated lens in (A) and its corresponding negative image, which was reversed with zerumbone supplementation as shown in (C) and (D). F: Lens opacity scoring showed the inhibitory effect of zerumbone on cataract formation. Scale bar: 1.25 mm.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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