Title: The Reduction of Methemoglobin Levels by Antioxidants
Abstract: Preventing the oxidation of hemoglobin in solution is one of the major requirements for the successful production and long-term storage of hemoglobin-based blood substitutes. To this end we have studied the effects of antioxidants on the rate of methemoglobin formation and disappearance in solutions of human and bovine hemoglobin at 4°C and 37°C. Ascorbate and desferal (5 mM) were observed to act as prooxidants, increasing the rate of methemoglobin formation at 37°C. Trehalose, mannitol, glucose, and EDTA (5 mM) had no significant effect. Glutathione and NADH (10 mM) were the most effective antioxidants tested, causing a significant decrease in the rate of methemoglobin formation at 37°C for periods of up to 50 hours. The combination of these antioxidants in bovine hemoglobin at 4°C resulted in the reduction of methemoglobin levels to nearly undetectable levels in approximately 150 hours. In addition, NADH and glutathione were found to reduce methemoglobin levels to 10% over a period of 100 hours in a sample of human hemoglobin that had been stored at 4°C for one year and had 60% methemoglobin. These results suggest that the prevention and reversal of methemoglobin formation during the long-term storage of hemoglobin solutions and hemoglobin-based blood substitutes may now be possible.
Publication Year: 1988
Publication Date: 1988-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref', 'pubmed']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 29
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