Studies on the Antioxidant Activity of Inulin and Its Mechanism

Abstract:

The antioxidant activity of inulin was evaluated by the studies of the reduction ability，Fe2+-chelating activity and DPPH free radical scavenging activity. The mechanism of its antioxidant activity was investigated using the Caco-2 cell monolayer model. Three different antioxidant activity assays showed that inulin exhibited good antioxidant activity. A significant protective effect of inulin on H2O2 induced oxidative stress in Caco-2 cells was observed in comparison with the positive controls. With the treatment of 0.8 mg/mL insulin，the activities of superoxide dismutase，catalase and glutathione peroxidase were increased by 35.8%，47.6%，and 61.2%，respectively. The antioxidant activity of inulin takes effect mainly by activing the intracellular antioxidant enzymes.