Levels of Oxidative Metabolites, Antioxidants and Neopterin in Nigerian Pulmonary Tuberculosis Patients

Abstract

Aim: Several products of cellular (macrophage) activation (i.e. free radicals and cytokines) are potential causes of metabolic disorders in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients. There is a dearth of information on the levels of neopterin and oxidative metabolites in Nigerian PTB patients. This study therefore assessed the levels of markers of oxidative stress and neopterin in Nigerian PTB patients. Method: Thirty-eight (17 males and 21 females) newly diagnosed PTB-patients and 40 (22 males and 18 females) apparently healthy non-PTB controls volunteered to participate in this study. Diagnostic criteria included sputum acid fast bacilli, chest X-ray and Mantoux test. The levels of superoxide dismutase, plasma albumin, total antioxidant potential, nitric oxide, reduced glutathione, catalase, total plasma peroxide, oxidative stress index, malondialdehyde and neopterin (marker of cellular activation) were determined in them using spectrophotometric methods and enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) technique respectively. Result: In PTB-patients, significantly (p<0.05) lower levels of albumin, superoxide dismutase, reduced glutathione, catalase, nitric oxide and total antioxidant potential with significantly (p<0.05) higher levels of total plasma peroxide, malondialdehyde, oxidative stress index and neopterin were observed when compared with the non-PTB controls. The result indicates significantly higher levels of cellular activation, free radical load and oxidative stress with associated antioxidants depletion in PTB patients. Conclusion: Oxidative stress and increased level of neopterin are features of pulmonary tuberculosis. Since most of the antioxidants regulating the free radical load and oxidative stress are micronutrient dependent, micronutrient supplementation may be required as adjuvant therapy in the management of PTB patients.