Objective: To study the preventing effects of procyanidins (PC) on selenite cataract in rats and the time-effect relationship.
Method: Forty five SD rats were divided into three groups: control, model and experiment groups. The rats in the experiment group were fed additionally with the PC by 80 mg x kg(-1) when they were supplied the equal selenite with the model group. Five rats of each group were regularly sacrificed by bleeding from femoral artery at sixth, eleventh, sixteenth day and the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) of all lenses was measured.
Result: Compared with the model group, the level of the MDA in the experiment group at the eleventh day and the sixteenth day greatly decreased (P < 0.01). At the sixteenth day the level of the SOD and GSH-Px had an increase (P < 0.01), which showed its anti-oxygenation.
Conclusion: PC indicated the obvious inhibition in the development of the rat cataract. The treatment period was recommended at least for fifteen days.