ANTIOXIDANT EFFECT OF HESPERIDIN ON CATARACT RAT PUPS

Cataract, known as opacification of the lens in the eye, is one of the causes of blindness worldwide. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential protective effects of Hesperidin (HES) in an experimental cataract model with sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) in male Wistar rats. Thirty-two Wistar-albino rat pups were assigned into four groups. All the rats, except for those in the Control group, were injected subcutaneously (s.c) Na2SeO3 to induce experimental cataract on the postnatal 10th day. Group 1: Only saline (0.9 % NaCl) was administered by s.c. Group 2: Nuclear cataract was produced single dose 20 μmol/kg s.c. Na2SeO3 on the postnatal 10th day. Group 3: HES was dissolved in saline solution and 100 mg/kg was administered by oral gavage for 4 weeks. Group 4: Na2SeO3 (20 μmol/kg) + HES (100 mg/kg). The reduced glutathione (GSH), malondialdehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant status (TAS) in lens supcrnatants were measured spectrophotometrically. Data were analyzed using the SPSS software package. One-way ANOVAs followed by post-hoc Bonferroni tests were used for statistical analysis (p < 0.05). It was observed that GSH and TAS levels decreased in the Na2SeO3 group compared to the Control group, whereas MDA levels increased significantly. However in the Na2SeO3+HES group, compared to the Na2SeO3 group, GSH and TAS levels increased significantly while MDA levels were decreased. In our study, it was observed that Hesperidin had positive effects on oxidative damage in the cataract model.