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The widely used anesthetic agent propofol can replace α‐tocopherol as an antioxidant
Author(s) -
Aarts Leon,
van der Hee Regine,
Dekker Ingrid,
de Jong Jan,
Langemeijer Han,
Bast Aalt
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
febs letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.593
H-Index - 257
eISSN - 1873-3468
pISSN - 0014-5793
DOI - 10.1016/0014-5793(94)01337-z
Subject(s) - lipid peroxidation , microsome , antioxidant , chemistry , glutathione , anesthetic , tocopherol , alpha tocopherol , biochemistry , pharmacology , propofol , endogeny , biology , in vitro , vitamin e , anesthesia , medicine , enzyme
The cell membrane is protected against lipid peroxidation through endogenous antioxidants such as the lipid soluble α‐tocopherol. The anesthetic agent propofol (2,6‐diisopropylphenol) has a chemical structure which is similar to α‐tocopherol, since it also contains a phenolic OH‐group. The transient protection of GSH against lipid peroxidation in control liver microsomes is not observed in microsomes deficient in α‐tocopherol. Introducing propofol (2 and 5 μM) restored the protective effect of GSH. Similar to the control microsomes the GSH‐protective effect did not occur in previously heated microsomes. These results suggest that propofol acts similarly to α‐tocopherol as a chain breaking antioxidant in liver microsomal membranes.