RADICAL SCAVENGER ACTIVITY OF BENDAZAC, AN ANTICATARACT NONSTEROIDAL ANTIINFLAMMATORY AGENT

Oxidative damage to lens components is associated with cataract format ion and reactive oxygen species (ROS) overproduction at inflammation s ites is thought to lead to the development of inflammatory disorders. Bendazac is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug able to delay the c ataractogenic process. Aim of the present study is to characterize, bo th chemically and biologically, the activity of this anticataract agen t as a radical scavenger. Bendazac has been shown to be a strong react ing substrate in a chemical oxidizing system, which mimics a physiolog ical pathway of hydroxy radical generation. In the Fenton-Cier reactio n the drug rapidly forms a mixture of hydroxylated derivatives, among which 5-hydroxybendazac, bendazac's main metabolite, being a hydroxy r adical scavenger itself. Moreover, by means of a rapid and sensitive f low cytometric method able to determine reactive oxygen intermediate p roduction, bendazac and its 5-hydroxy derivative were shown to inhibit oxidative burst activation in polymorphonuclear neutrophil leukocytes (PMNLs). (C) 1995 The Italian Pharmacological Society.