Protective effect of desloratadine against oxidative stress in human erythrocytes in vitro

Desloratadine (DCL) is a non-sedating antihistamine approved for the treatment of allergic rhinitis or chronic idiopathic urticaria. The objective of this study was to evaluate the potential protective effect of DCL against oxidative stress in human erythrocytes in vitro. Human erythrocytes were oxidized by a water-soluble radical generators—2,2′ azobis (2-amidinopropane) hydrochloride (AAPH; 20, 50 mM) or tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBHP; 0.5 mM) and the protective effects of DCL (2, 5, 7, 10 and 26 μM) on selected oxidative stress markers were investigated. Erythrocytes were divided into aliquots. The first aliquot was incubated for 2 h at 37 °C with AAPH or TBHP. The other test aliquots were preincubated with selected concentrations of DCL for 30 min and followed by AAPH or TBHP incubation for 2 h. Malondialdehyde (MDA) content, catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, as well as hemolysis percentage (H) were measured in all erythrocyte samples. The influence of solvent (0.5% ethanol) on the parameters studied was also checked. Pretreatment with DCL (7, 10, 26 μM) could prevent TBHP-induced increase in MDA formation in a concentration-dependent manner. DCL has no influence on CAT activity and it significantly enhanced SOD activity compared to AAPH treatment samples at 7, 10, 26 μM. DCL (26 μM) also reduced the hemolytic effect on erythrocytes when compared to the erythrocytes exposed to oxidants only. These results suggest a beneficial effect of DCL as an antioxidant, which might be an additional explanation of its therapeutic action.