Ursodeoxycholic acid and superoxide anion

AIM: To investigate the ability of ursodeoxycholic acid (UDCA) to scavenge superoxide anion (Of). METHODS: We assessed the ability of UDCA to scavenge (O2-) generated by xanthine-xanthine oxidase (X-XO) in a cell-free system and its effect on the rate of O2--induced ascorbic acid (AA) oxidation in hepatic post-mitochondrial supernatants. RESULTS: UDCA at a concentration as high as 1 mmol/L did not impair the ability of the X-XO system to generate O2-, but could scavenge O2- at concentrations of 0.5 and 1 mmol/L, and decrease the rate of AA oxidation at a concentration of 100 lmol/L CONCLUSION: UDCA can scavenge O2-, an action that may be beneficial to patients with primary biliary cirrhosis.