N-ACETYLCYSTEINE TREATMENT FOR ACUTE PARAQUAT INTOXICATION REDUCES MORTALITY AND OXIDATIVE STRESS IN RATS

Abstract

ISEE-38 Introduction: An animal study in rats was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in paraquat intoxication and associated oxidative stress. The effectiveness of treatment was measured by the change of mortality rates and markers of oxidative stress, including glutathione, malondialdehyde and superoxide anion production. Methods: The mortality rates of different dosages of paraquat-intoxicated rats were compared with those on NAC treatment (100mg/kg × 4) after paraquat exposure. For the oxidative stress study, total glutathione concentrations of the tissues were measured by a modified Ellman’s procedure; the serum malondialdehyde levels were determined by a commercial assay kit; and the production of superoxide anions was estimated by a lucigenin-enhanced chemiluminescence method. Results: NAC treatment does significantly increase the probability of survival in paraquat-intoxicated rats. In addition, NAC can suppress the serum malondialdehyde levels and production of superoxide anions, and conversely, augment total glutathione concentrations, significantly. This was the case in all tissues studied. Conclusion: Our study has demonstrated that NAC post-treatment in paraquat intoxicated rats can effectively increase the survival rate and abolish the paraquat-induced oxidative stress, in which the cellular glutathione level plays an important role in the antioxidant mechanism.