Antioxidant-mediated protective effect of hawthorn (Crataegus mexicana) peel extract in erythrocytes against oxidative damage

Hawthorn (Crataegus Mexicana) is a traditional fruit in Mexican gastronomy and is used to treat many ailments. Previous studies have shown that acetone extracts derived from hawthorn peel (HPE) possess a strong antioxidant activity in chemical and biological model systems in vitro, attributable to their polyphenolic content. The main objective of this study was to investigate the ability of HPE to protect erythrocytes against oxidative damage, in vitro. The protection rendered by the HPE in erythrocytes was studied in terms of protection to oxidative damage by the inhibition of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) assays, morphological changes by light microscopy, and electrophoretic analysis of banding pattern of the red blood cells (RBCs). FeSO4 was chosen to induce lipid peroxidation in human RBCs membranes and cytoskeleton proteins. The total polyphenol content in HPE was found to be 0.68 mg/g (SD 0.001) as the equivalent of gallic acid per gram. Trapping of DPPH was calculated by IC50 in 15.26 mg/L (SD 0.20). Better inhibition of TBARS formation by HPE was 16.78 mg/L (SD 0.33). HPE retards the morphological alteration in the erythrocytes-eryptosis. The electrophoretic pattern showed that some protein bands were not altered during a long period of incubation in HPE. Furthermore, it was found that HPE offers significant protection to human membrane erythrocyte up to for 28 days from the oxidative damage. In conclusion, our results indicate that HPE is capable of protecting erythrocytes against oxidative damage and morphologic changes by acting as a strong antioxidant.   Key words: Antioxidants, Crataegus mexicana, free radicals, Hawthorn, red blood cells, thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS).