Abstract
Iron is required in various biological processes of the cell, but excess iron causes oxidative stress. Oxidative stress can be prevented by antioxidants with free radical scavenging properties. Tannic acid and gallic acid are phenolic compounds with antioxidant properties found naturally in plants. In this study, the effects of gallic acid and tannic acid on iron-induced oxidative stress parameters were investigated in a fruit fly model. Effect of the compounds against iron-induced oxidative stress were evaluated by determining spectrophotometrically superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) enzyme activities, and levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in larvae (n: 10) and adults (n: 20) of wild type Oregon R strain of Drosophila melanogaster. Iron treatment decreased enzyme activities and GSH levels, but increased MDA levels. Co-treatment of these compounds with iron ameliorated iron-induced changes, especially in larvae. On the other hand, iron-induced decrease in AChE activity was increased in adults by treatment of these compounds with iron. The results showed that natural phenolic compounds have the potential to ameliorate iron-induced changes in oxidative stress parameters.