RESUMEN
The stem of sorghum is used as color additives in cooking meals and taken as beverages when steeped or boiled in water as folklore for the management of anemia and some other diseases. This study sought to assess the antioxidant and neuroprotective potentials of red dye extract from sorghum stem on cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress in rat brain. Wistar strain albino rats were fed diet supplemented with the red dye (0.5% and 1.0% inclusion) for 14 days. There was no significant difference (P > .05) in average feed intake and weight gain of rats fed the basal diet and the red dye-supplemented diet. However, intraperitoneal administration of cyclophosphamide (75 mg/kg of body weight) 24 hours prior the termination of the experiment caused a significant (P < .05) increase in the brain malondialdehyde (MDA) content and serum activities of aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase in those rats fed diet without the dye supplement, whereas there was a significant decrease (P < .05) in brain MDA content and serum enzyme activities in rats fed diet with the dye in a concentration-dependent manner. The protective effect of the red dye against cyclophosphamide-induced oxidative stress could be attributed to the high phenolic content (56.2%) and antioxidant activities of the red dye as typified by 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl free radical scavenging ability, reducing properties, and Fe(2+) chelating ability. Therefore, dietary inclusion of the red dye from sorghum stem could be harnessed in the management of neurodegenerative diseases associated with oxidative stress.