Nicotinamide and alpha-tocopherol combination partially protects t-butyl hydroperoxide-induced neurotoxicity: Implication for neurodegenerative disease

In light of evidences of impaired energy metabolism and oxidative damage in neurodegenerative disorders, we have investigated the potential role of compounds which may improve the mitochondrial metabolism and can ameliorate the toxic effects of free radicals, and thus compensate for disease-related defects. Treatments with three doses of t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BuOOH) resulted in increased lipid peroxidation in corpus striatum. The superoxide dismutase (SOD, EC 1.15.1.1) activity increased while reduced gluthathione content reclined. Supplementation with alpha-tocopherol and nicotinamide and their combination resulted in decline in LPO and showed the tendency towards normalization of SOD activity and GSH content. The results showed that supplementation of a combination of alpha-tocopherol and nicotinamide provides protection against t-BuOOH-induced neurotoxicity

New rhodamine nitroxide based fluorescent probes for intracellular hydroxyl radical identification in living cells

The synthesis, characteristics, and biological applications of a series of new rhodamine nitroxide fluorescent probes that enable imaging of hydroxyl radicals (•OH) in living cells are described. These probes are highly selective for •OH in aqueous solution, avoiding interference from other reactive oxygen species (ROS), and they facilitate •OH imaging in biologically active samples. The robust nature of these probes (high specificity and selectivity, and facile synthesis) offer distinct advantages over previous methods for •OH detection. © 2011 American Chemical Society