Deferring senile effect of polysaccharides from Angelica and Astragalus on aging mice

Angelica and Astragalus, Chinese herbal medicine, are used as immunostimulants for enriching the blood, anti-tumor and antioxidation effects. However, the synergistic mechanisms of antioxidant effect have long been the object of intensive study. We investigated the deferring senile effect of AAP on aging mice by determination of the contents of monoamine oxidase (MAO) in brain, hydroxyproline (Hyp) in skin, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in serum, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and xanthine oxidase (XOD) in liver tissue and immunity organs index. The obtained results showed that AAP decreased significantly the content of MAO and H₂O₂, and enhanced the concentrations of Hyp, GSH-PX and XOD in vivo. No significant differences were found when compared with those of vitamin E. Additionally, AAP could increase immunity organs index. These results demonstrated that AAP had significant deferring senile effect on the aging mice. These changes may be the important mechanisms to prevent mice from aging.