Antioxidant and Radioprotective Properties of Zingiber montanum (J. König) A. Dietr

The tropical ginger, Zingiber montanum (J. König) A. Dietr. (syn. Zingiber cassumunar Roxb.), is a known medicinal plant and non-conventional spice food widely and wildly grown in the wetland ecosystems of Manipur within the Indo-Burmese mega-biodiversity 'hotspot' region. The bio-active molecules present in the rhizome predominantly are alflabene, cassumunene, cassumunaquinones I, II, cassuminins A, B, C and cassumnarins A,B,C [1]. The rhizome displays strong antioxidant potential as studied by sulfur (thiyl) free radical (GS ^. ) reactivities using curcumin as reference indicator [2]. Using chemical assays like diphenyl picrylhydrazyl (DPPH), superoxide (O₂ ^-) and hydroxyl (OH ^. ) free radical scavenging methods, methanol extract of rhizome has been shown to possess significant antioxidant potential and rhizome extract at low concentration has been shown to exhibit high cytotoxic properties as revealed by MTT assay using NIH 3T3 mouse fibroblast cell line [3,4]. The rhizome extracts with 60% ethanol have been found to protect plasmid pBR322 DNA exposed to varying doses of gamma radiation to a very significant extent. Various types of chromosomal abnormalities induced in rat bone marrow cells by gamma radiation can be effectively protected in animals fed with Z. montanum rhizome extract through oral or intraperitoneal administration.

Acknowledgement: The authors thank Indian Council of Medical Research, Government of India, New Delhi for financial support.

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