Antioxidant activity of qizhu tang.
AIM
To study the antioxidant, activity of Qizhu Tang (QZT) both in vivo and in vitro.


METHODS
QZT consists of 4 herbal constituents (Rhizoma Atractylodis Macrocephalae, Poria cocos, Kadix Notoginseng, and Radix Astragali), each of the components and their combinations were examined in vitro for 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and hydroxyl radical scavenging activities, and for the inhibition of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) formation in rat liver homogenate. At the same time, their in vivo protective effect on cerebral ischemia-areperfusion injury was determined in rats.


RESULTS
Only the preparations having a higher antioxidant activity comparable to QZT in all three in vitro assays were relatively active in vivo both for TBARS inhibition and glutathione peroxidase preservation, although the activities were much lower than that of QZT as a whole.


CONCLUSION
QZT formula is a good natural antioxidant having an effective preventive effect against cerebral ischemia reperfusion damage.