Effects of kojic acid on oxidative damage and on iron and trace element level in iron-overloaded mice and rats.

Since members of hydroxypyrone series posses iron chelating properties, kojic acid (KA), 5-hydroxy-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4H-pyran-one, a fungal metabolite of natural origin, has been suggested to might play a role in iron-overload diseases and in oxidative stress conditions involving transition metal. In our experiments in vivo models of iron-overload were used to study iron-chelating properties of KA and its effect on oxidative damage in mice and rats. The treatment of iron-preloaded rats (25 mg Fe x kg(-1) b.w., i.p., daily for five days) with 0.5% KA in drinking water for four weeks did not lower the iron concentration accumulated in the liver, neither diminished the induced hepatic lipid peroxidation in iron-loaded rats. The GSH level decreased in KA-treated group. Similarly, in iron-loaded mice model experiment, the following oral treatment with KA (100 mg x kg(-1)) daily for 7 days did not decrease the level of Fe accumulated in the liver and the lipid peroxidation even enhanced after KA treatment. Though in our experiments in vivo the ability of kojic acid to affect iron kinetics in the organism could not be proved, kojic acid as a molecule of natural origin may serve as a template for the preparation of new biologically active derivatives possessing capability of chelating iron.