Bamboo Salts Have Antioxidant Activity and Inhibit ROS Formation in Human Astrocyte U373MG Cells

Abstract

Bamboo salt (BS) has been used for the purpose of prevention and treatment of various diseases in Korea for a long time. It is a specially processed salt that is made of special ingredients including normal salt, bamboo, pine tree firewood, pine resin, yellow soil, and high level of fire handling technology. We investigated the protective effects of BS on ROS production against the oxidative stress in U373MG cells. We further examined the SOD activity of BS as an antioxidant to determine the effectiveness of BS in regard of inhibition of ROS formation. BS inhibited ROS formation by 2.2 to 2.9 times compared with NaCl and even by 23 to 45% higher than Vitamin E. The SOD activity of BS-treated cells, as an antioxidant, was 4.5∼7.2 times higher than that of NaCl and even 3.3∼7.1 times higher than that of vitamin E. BS is considered to be a potent antioxidant to inhibit and even eliminate ROS. (Cancer Prev Res 12, 225-230, 2007)