Protective effects of boldine against free radical-induced erythrocyte lysis.

Boldine, an aporphine alkaloid extracted from the leaves and bark of boldo (Peumus boldus Mol.), has been shown to exhibit strong free-radical scavenger and antioxidant properties. Here, we report the in vitro ability of boldine to protect intact red cells against the haemolytic damage induced by the free radical initiator 2, 2'-azobis-(2-amidinopropane) (AAPH).

Cytoprotective and antioxidant effects of boldine on tert-butyl hydroperoxide-induced damage to isolated hepatocytes.

Boldine, an aporphine alkaloid, was recently shown by us to exhibit potent antioxidant properties. We report here that boldine concentration-dependently inhibited the peroxidative (accumulation of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances) and lytic damage (trypan blue exclusion and lactate dehydrogenase leakage) to isolated rat hepatocytes induced by tert-butyl hydroperoxide (TBOOH). Boldine (200 micromol/L) fully cytoprotected and completely prevented the peroxidation induced by TBOOH at concentrations equal to or lower than 0.

Effects of boldine on cellular immune functions in vitro.

The in vitro effects of boldine on natural killer (NK) cells, lectin-dependent cell-mediated cytotoxicity (LDCC) and lectin-induced blast transformation were studied in patients with breast cancer, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and healthy donors. NK activity was measured against [51Cr]-labeled K-562 targets cells. LDCC and natural cell-mediated cytotoxicity (NCMC) were assessed using [3H]-thymidine-prelabeled HEp-2 cells.