Oxidative damage after chronic ethanol intake in rat tissues: Prophylaxis of Ginkgo biloba extract

The prophylactic effect of Ginkgo biloba extract (EGB) on ethanol-induced oxidative stress in various tissues was evaluated by determining an antioxidative parameter and lipid peroxidation in liver, heart, kidney and testes. Chronic ethanol treatment (2.4 g g/kg, orally for 90 days), for male Sprague-Dawley rats, induced a significant depletion of glutathione (GSH), increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) level, and inactivation of antioxidative enzymes, including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT), in all measured tissues, except renal SOD and cardiac CAT. In contrast, low or high EGB pre-administration (48 and 96 mg/kg, respectively), especially a high EGB supplement, partly reversed these alterations resulting from chronic ethanol treatment, although changed parameters could not return completely to the normal range. These results showed that EGB could provide protection against ethanol-induced oxidative stress on various tissues.