The pequi pulp oil (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.) provides protection against aging-related anemia, inflammation and oxidative stress in Swiss mice, especially in females

Abstract Continued exposure to reactive oxygen species and inflammation are the rationale behind aging theories and associated diseases. Scientific evidence corroborates the ethnomedicinal use of the oil of pequi (Caryocar brasiliense Camb.), a typical Brazilian Cerrado fruit, against oxidative damage to biomolecules and inflammation. We aimed to investigate in vivo the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects of pequi oil on hemogram and DNA damage in healthy young adult and older middle-aged Swiss mice of both genders. Animals, aged 6-7 and 11-12 months, were orally treated for 15 days with pequi oil at 30 mg/day. Blood samples were used for hemogram and comet assay, and bone marrow for micronucleus test. Female controls of 11-12 months had significantly lower haemoglobin and hematocrit than those of 6-7 months. Treatment with pequi oil improved this state, removing the differences. Pequi oil had no genotoxic or clastogenic effects and significantly increased lymphocytes and decreased neutrophils+monocytes in females of 11-12 months, removing the significant differences observed between controls of 6-7 and 11-12 months. The results suggest that dietary supplementation with pequi oil could protect against anemia, inflammation and oxidative stress related to aging, helping to prevent aging-related chronic degenerative diseases, mainly for females.

摘要：持续暴露于活性氧与炎症，是衰老相关理论及对应疾病的核心发病基础。现有科学证据佐证了皮奎果油（Caryocar brasiliense Camb.）——一种典型的巴西塞拉多（Cerrado）果品——在民族医药中用于对抗生物分子氧化损伤与炎症的传统用途。本研究旨在通过体内实验，探究皮奎果油对两种性别的健康青年成年（6~7月龄）及中老年（11~12月龄）瑞士小鼠的血常规指标与DNA损伤的抗氧化及抗炎作用。实验动物分为6~7月龄与11~12月龄两个年龄段组，每日经口给予30mg皮奎果油，连续干预15天。采集血液样本用于血常规检测与彗星实验，采集骨髓样本用于微核试验。11~12月龄的雌性对照组小鼠，其血红蛋白与红细胞压积水平显著低于6~7月龄雌性对照组小鼠；皮奎果油干预可改善该异常生理状态，消除两组间的指标差异。皮奎果油未表现出遗传毒性或致染色体断裂效应；且在11~12月龄雌性小鼠中，可显著升高淋巴细胞比例、降低中性粒细胞与单核细胞的总和，消除6~7月龄与11~12月龄雌性对照组小鼠间的显著指标差异。研究结果表明，膳食补充皮奎果油可对抗衰老相关的贫血、炎症与氧化应激，有助于预防衰老相关慢性退行性疾病，尤其对雌性个体效果显著。