Age-related protective effect of deprenyl on changes in the levels of diagnostic marker enzymes and antioxidant defense enzymes activities in cerebellar tissue in Wistar rats

Antioxidants are free radical scavengers and protect living organisms against oxidative damage to tissues. Experimental evidence implicates oxygen-derived free radicals as important causative agents of aging and the present study was designed to evaluate the age-related effects of deprenyl on the antioxidant defense in the cerebellum of male Wistar rats. Experimental rats of three age groups (6, 12, and 18 months old) were administered with liquid deprenyl (2 mg/kg body weight/day for a period of 15 days i.p) and levels of diagnostic marker enzymes (alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, lactate dehydrogenase and creatine phosphokinase) in plasma, lipid peroxides, reduced glutathione and activities of glutathione-dependent antioxidant enzymes (glutathione peroxidase and glutathione-S-transferase) and antiperoxidative enzymes (catalase and superoxide dismutase) in the cerebellar tissue were determined. Intraperitonial administration of deprenyl (2 mg/kg body weight/day for a period of 15 days) significantly (p < 0.05) attenuated the age-related alterations noted in the levels of diagnostic marker enzymes plasma of experimental animals. Deprenyl also exerted an antioxidant effect against aging process by hindering lipid peroxidation to an extent. Moderate rise in the levels of reduced glutathione and activities of glutathione-dependent antioxidant enzymes and antiperoxidative enzymes was also observed. The results of the present investigation indicated that the protective potential of deprenyl was probably due to the increase of the activity of the free radical scavenging enzymes or to a counteraction of free radicals by its antioxidant nature or to a strengthening of neuronal membrane by its membrane-stabilizing action. Histopathological observations also confirmed the protective effect of deprenyl against the age-related aberrations in rat cerebellum. These data on the effect of deprenyl on parameters of normal aging provides new additional information concerning the anti-aging potential of deprenyl.