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. 2014 Jan;21(1):11-8.

Effects of bilberry on deoxyribonucleic Acid damage and oxidant-antioxidant balance in the lens, induced by ultraviolet radiation

Eman Mohamed Aly  1 , Mervat Ahmed Ali  1
Affiliations

Effects of bilberry on deoxyribonucleic Acid damage and oxidant-antioxidant balance in the lens, induced by ultraviolet radiation

Eman Mohamed Aly et al. Malays J Med Sci. 2014 Jan.

Abstract

Background: This study investigated the possible protective effects of bilberry extract after exposing rat eyes to ultraviolet-B (UV-B) radiation.

Methods: Four groups of rats were included in this study, each consisting of 10 Wistar rats. The first group acted as the control, and the second group was exposed to UV-B, 5 KJ/m(2) (λm = 300 nm), for 15 minutes. The third group was orally administered bilberry extract (160 mg twice per day) for two weeks before exposure to the UV-B, while the fourth group was administered the same dose of bilberry extract for two weeks before euthanisation. A comet assay was used to examine DNA damage, while the malondialdehyde (MDA) level and superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT), activities were measured in the lens.

Results: After exposing the rats to UV-B radiation, the mean percentage tail DNA and tail moment were significantly increased (P < 0.001) when compared to the control group. In the same context, the lens tissue MDA levels and CAT activity were also significantly increased (P < 0.001). The supplementation of the bilberry extract was found to improve the comet assay parameters and enzymatic activity of the rat lens tissue.

Conclusion: The administration of bilberry led to a decrease in the oxidative stress in the lens tissues and DNA damage induced by UV-B radiation in the lenses of Wistar rats.

Keywords: bilberry; comet assay; lens; malondialdehyde; rat; ultraviolet.

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Figures

Figure 1:
Figure 1:
Comet assay of lens epithelial cells. (a) Control group, (b) epithelial cells of rats exposed to UV-B (5 KJ/m2, λm = 300 nm) for 15 minutes, (c) rats orally administered bilberry extract (160 mg/ml) twice per day for two weeks before UV-B irradiation, (d) bilberry administered group for two weeks without UV-B irradiation.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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