Scientific Research on Maharishi Ayurveda

anti-aging > anti-aging study 8

Anti-Aging, Neurophysiology and Intelligence Study #8

Title
Maharishi Amrit Kalash [MAK-4 and MAK-5] Rejuvenates Ageing Central Nervous System’s Antioxidant Defense System: An In Vivo Study

Publication
Pharmacological Research, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp 497-502, 1999.

Authors
Bhupinder Pal Singh Vohra,* Satya Prakash Sharma,* and Vinod Kumar Kansal.**

Conducted at
**Laboratory of Nutritional Histopathology and Ageing, Department of Zoology, Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra—136 119, Haryana, India
**Animal Biochemistry Division, National Dairy Research Institute, Karnal, Haryana, India

Summary
The oxygen-free radical involvement in various deteriorative processes and in aging is unquestionably established. In the present study, age-related changes in antioxidant enzyme activity in the different regions of CNS of 10-month and 32-month guinea pigs were studied. Maharishi Amrit Kalash has shown promise in inhibiting the in vitro and in vivo lipid peroxidation. Therefore, in the present study the effect of MAK on the activity of antioxidant enzymes was checked. Our results indicate that the activity of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase, was found to be reduced p<0.05 in all the regions of CNS studied. The activities of catalase declined significantly only in the cerebral cortex, hypothalamus and the cerebellum, whereas glutathione reductase activity declined in the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus. It is concluded that the age-related decline in the activities of antioxidant enzymes is region-specific as well as enzyme-specific. The endogenous lipid peroxide was found to be increased significantly p<0.05 in the 32-month old animals, whereas the lipid peroxidation after incubating the tissue homogenate in the air was found to be decreased p<0.05 in the older animals. The results indicate that the accumulation of lipid peroxides takes place with age, but the susceptibility of lipid peroxidation decreases in the older animals. The treatment of MAK 500 mg kg–1 body wt for 2 months could augment the activities of antioxidant enzymes p<0.05. The effect of MAK was more pronounced in older than younger animals. It is concluded that the MAK can be used in compensating the decline in the activities of antioxidant enzymes in CNS, and thereby it reduce the risks of lipid peroxidation.

For more information on this study, see Antioxidant Research.
Abstract reprinted by permission of the publisher from Pharmacological Research, Vol. 40, No. 6, pp. 497-502. Copyright 1999 by Academic Press Ltd.