Effect of Age on Antioxidant Enzymes in Women Folk

BACKGROUND: Oxidative stress induces oxidative damage to DNA and other biomolecules which may impair normal functions of tissue cells and lead to human aging and disease especially in women. The correlation between antioxidant capacity and oxidative damage during aging has been reported in several tissues in different species. OBJECTIVE: To analyse the age-dependent alteration in the activity of plasma SOD and CAT in the female population of Kashmir. METHODS: The study group consisted of total 203 normal healthy Kashmiri women. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) protein estimation of each sample was done by Lowry method. Catalase and SOD activity was measured by method of Claiborne (1985) and bishop respectively. RESULTS: In 20-30 years of age group, catalase activity was 3.37 ± 0.10; in 30-40 years of age group 2.92 ± 0.7, and 2.0 ± 0.07 in > 40 years of age group (p>0.05). In 20-30 yrs of age group; SOD activity was 12. 7 ± 0.238, 19.6 ± 0.028 in 30-40 yrs of age group and 53.7 ± 0.036 in > 40 yrs of age group and this difference in the activities of catalase and SOD was observed to be significant (p>0.05) CONCLUSION: We conclude that decrease in catalase activity is responsible for increase in oxidative stress with advancing age and increase in SOD enzyme activity with advancement in age of women declines oxidative stress in our population in response to ever increasing oxidative stress in women with advancing age, thus decreasing the overall CAT/SOD ratio with increasing age. JMS 2012; 15(2):119-22