Antioxidant and Radioprotective Effects of Olive Leaf Extract

Publisher Summary This chapter determines the differential antioxidant activities of the main phenolic compounds present in olive leaf extract (OLE) obtained from Olea europaea L. leaves, in order to identify the differential antioxidant activities of these compounds by reference to their abilities to scavenge the ABTS•+ radical cation and establish the synergistic behavior of these compounds in OLE. The relationship between the antioxidant and radioprotective activities is discussed. Therefore, the in vivo radioprotective activity of an OLE and the reference compounds diosmin and rutin (widely used as pharmaceuticals) and the S-containing compounds dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) and 6-n-propyl-2-thiouracil-6c (PTU) is investigated, using X-rays as an oxidative DNA-damaging agent and evaluating the reduction of the frequency of micronucleated erythrocytes (polychromatic erythrocytes of mouse bone marrow) in mice exposed to X-rays. The micronucleus assay on mouse bone marrow polychromatic erythrocytes is probably the most frequently used in vivo short-term genotoxicity test.