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The protective effect of the extracts of the plants Silybum marianum and Taraxacum officinale by carbon tetrachloride (CCl4) was researched. Sixty-six female Wistar albino rats were divided into six groups: Control, Silybum marianum, Taraxacum officinale, CCl4, Silybum marianum+ CCl4, Taraxacum officinale+CCl4. The Silybum marianum and Taraxacum officinale extracts were administered as 100 mg/kg/day by gavage. The CCl4 was administered as 1.5 mL/kg (i.p.). At the end of the trial period, in the serums obtained from the animals, in the CCl4 group it was found that the MDA level increased in the kidney tissue samples as well as in the ALP and GGT enzyme activities. It was also found that the GSH level and the GST enzyme activities decreased (p<.05). The microscopic evaluations showed that the CCl4 caused a serious hydropic degeneration, coagulation necrosis, and mono-nuclear cell infiltration in the kidney cell. In the animals where CCl4 and Silybum marianum and Taraxacum officinale extracts were applied together, it was found that the serum ALP and GGT enzyme activities decreased and that the MDA level decreased in the kidney tissue, and that the GSH level and GST enzyme activities increased. It was observed that the histopathological changes caused by the CCl4 toxicity were corrected by applying the extracts. Eventually, it was determined that the Silybum marianum was more effective. Silybum marianum and Taraxacum officinale extracts which were used against histopathological changes in the kidney caused by toxication showed a corrective effect, which were supported by biochemical parameters.

This experiment was carried out to determine the effect of short-term hypothermia on blood malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) concentrations in rats. Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were used weighing 180-200 g and on average 3.5 months old. They were randomly divided into two experimental groups: control (without cooling) and hypothermic (with cooling). The rats of the hypothermic group were cooled by immersion into cold water (10-12 degrees C), and the control rats were immersed into water of body temperature (37 degrees C) up to the neck without using any anaesthetic or tranquilizer for 3 min Rectal body temperatures of both groups were measured and blood samples to analyse MDA, GSH, SOD, GSH, GSH-Px and G-6-PD were collected immediately after the treatment. It was found that the MDA level was higher and the GSH and G-6-PD levels were lower in the hypothermic group than those in the controls. There was no difference between the control or hypothermic group regarding SOD or GSH-Px levels. It is concluded that acute hypothermia increased the lipid peroxidation and decreased the GSH and G-6-PD levels in rats.

The combined effects of vitamin E and selenium were studied in native Anatolian horses subject to strenuous exercise. The concentrations of copper, zinc, iron, calcium, potassium, and magnesium were determined in serum by atomic absorption spectrometry in two study groups (n = 25 each), one of which served as untreated controls. After exercising the horses by running 1,500 m in about 7 min, only the copper level and the copper/zinc ratio significantly increased (p < 0.05), but the concentrations of calcium, potassium, iron, and magnesium remained unchanged. In horses treated with vitamin E and selenium, the calcium and potassium levels decreased to levels lower than those of untreated controls before and after exercise. The iron levels were not changed by exercise or treatment alone but increased when the horses had been supplemented and exercised. The copper level and the copper/zinc ration increased as a result of exercise in both treated and untreated horses. These changes suggest that supplementation with vitamin E and selenium had an important effect on the serum concentrations of calcium, potassium, copper, iron, and the copper/zinc ratio.

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of supplemental antioxidant vitamins and minerals on lipid peroxidation and on the antioxidant systems in rabbits exposed to X-rays. The rabbits were divided into two experimental groups and one control group, each group containing seven rabbits. The first group (VG) received daily oral doses of vitamin E (460 mg/kg live weight) and vitamin C (100 mg/kg live weight). The second group (MG) was fed a mineral-enriched diet that contained 60 mg manganese chloride, 40 mg zinc sulfate, and 5 mg copper sulfate per kilogram of feed. The third group served as controls and received only a standard diet. Blood samples were obtained before and after the supplementation with vitamins or minerals, as well as before and after irradiation with a total dose of 550-rad X-rays. The blood samples were analyzed for their content of malondialdehyde (MDA), plasma vitamins C and E, retinol, reduced glutathione (GSH), and glutathione peroxidase activity (GPx). After irradiation, the control group showed increased levels of MDA and activity of GPx (p<0.05), whereas the levels of GSH, vitamin C, and vitamin E were decreased. In the VG, the concentration of MDA was lower (p<0.05), and the concentration of GSH and vitamins C and E were higher (p<0.05) when compared to controls. In the MG, the concentrations of MDA, GSH, vitamin C, and retinol were not affected by the mineral administration and radiation. The level of vitamin E in the MG increased with mineral administration (p<0.05), but decreased after irradiation (p<0.05). For the control group, the level of GSH was higher than in the two experimental groups. After irradiation, the VG animals had vitamin E and C levels that were higher than in MG and control groups (p<0.05). The activity of GPx was not affected by vitamin or mineral supplementation or by irradiation. We conclude that the supplementation with antioxidant vitamins and minerals may serve to reinforce the antioxidant systems, thus having a protective effect against cell damage by X-rays.

In the present study, the effects of chitosan on erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) levels and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), glutathione reductase (GR), and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) enzyme activities in lead toxicity-induced rats were investigated. Twenty-eight male Wistar albino rats were divided into four groups of control (C), lead group (Pb group), lead + chitosan group (Pb + CS group), and chitosan group (CS group). Lead groups were administered 50 mg/kg lead acetate intraperitoneally (ip) for 5 days and chitosan groups were administered 200 mg/kg chitosan for 28 days via gavage. At the end of the study, lead levels were measured in the blood; MDA and GSH levels and GPx, GR, and G6PDH activities were measured in the erythrocyte. It was determined that, in parallel with the increase of full blood lead levels in the Pb group, erythrocyte MDA levels increased significantly, while GSH levels and GSH-Px, GR, and G6PDH activities decreased when compared to those in the C and CS groups (p ˂ 0.05). There was a statistically significant decrease in lead and MDA levels and GSH level and GSH-Px activity increased (p ˂ 0.05) in the Pb + CS group, where chitosan was administered as a protective agent in addition to lead, when compared to the Pb group. There were no differences between the Pb + CS group and the other three groups based on GR and G6PDH activities (p ˃ 0.05). No statistically significant difference was found between the C and CS groups based on the parameters of analysis (p ˃ 0.05). The findings of the present study demonstrated that lead increased oxidative stress by increasing free radical production in erythrocytes, and chitosan was effective in removing the lead from the circulation and enforced the antioxidant defense system.

The status of nitric oxide oxidation products and antioxidant vitamins were investigated in goats infected with endoparasites and blood parasites (Trichostrongylidae sp. + Protostrongylidae sp. + Eimeria sp. + Babesia sp.), in this study. Eighteen goats were naturally infected with these parasites and ten healthy goats served as controls which had been treated with antiparasitic drugs after parasitological examinations were carried out. The concentrations of nitric oxide oxidation products (nitrate, nitrite) and antioxidant vitamins (vitamins E and C, β-carotene and retinol) were determined spectrophotometrically in the blood serum of all goats. The results were expressed as nitrate (µg/ml) 7.25 ± 1.31-4.69 ± 0.32; nitrite (µg/ml) 1.52 ± 0.39-1.64 ± 0.19; vitamin E (mg/100) 0.13 ± 0.05-0.42 ± 0.02; vitamin C (mg/100 ml) 1.49 ± 0.26-1.46 ± 0.15; retinol (g/100 ml) 201.51 ± 15.69-234.081 ± 45.15; β-carotene (g/100 ml) 62.71 ± 7.14-53.95 ± 3.82. In conclusion, nitrate concentrations of the infected group were higher than controls (p < 0.05) whereas vitamin E levels of the infected group were lower than the control group (p < 0.05). The concentrations of the other indices examined were not statistically different between groups. These results suggest that the parasitic infections have direct effects on the concentrations of vitamin E, an important antioxidant, and on the increase of nitrate levels which may result from the pathophysiological effects of the parasitic infections. Goat, parasite, nitrate, nitrite, antioxidant vitaminsThere are important changes in the biochemistry of hosts suffering from parasitic invasions depending on the species of the parasites and the sites of the hosts they invade (Aksakal and Özer 1987; Ö zer et al. 1995;Russel and Mc Dowell 1989). Gastrointestinal parasites in goats cause anemia by decreasing the amount of haemoglobin (Hb) and the numbers of erythrocytes (Deger 1990; Ö zer et al. 1995). Intra-erythrocytic parasites (Babesia, Plasmodium) metabolise Hb. As a result, the free O 2 and H 2 O 2 increase lipid peroxidation (Deger 1990;Ginsburg and Atamina 1994).NO is a biologic mediator in biochemical reactions, and physiologically, it is synthesised from L-arginine by NO synthase employing cofactor NADPH. In the host the levels of NO arise in some pathologic situations. In the body the NO is oxidised to NO 2 and NO 3 within a very short period of time. This short duration in the conversion of NO to NO 2 and NO 3 makes it difficult to accurately measure the concentration of NO. Therefore, by determining the amounts of NO 2 and NO 3 the levels of NO can be assessed (Bredt and Snyder 1994; M oncada et al. 1991; Torreilles and Guÿerin 1995).Anti-oxidant vitamins such as E, C, and A protect the cells from damage against free oxygen radicals generated as a result of parasitoses (Chuenkova et al. 1989;Medzyavichyus et al. 1989). Vitamins A, C, E, thiamin, riboflavin, pantothenic acid,