Abstract
The glutathione peroxidase activity in the pineal gland (epiphysis) has been studied in young and aging Wistar female rats (2–4 and 17–19 months old). For comparison, the same activity was studied in the pyramids of the medulla oblongata and in the olfactory tubercle. These two brain structures represent white and gray matter, respectively. The activity was evaluated using H2O2 as a redox substrate and with 5,5′-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid) to determine the decline in the level of the reduced glutathione. The glutathione peroxidase activity was higher in the pineal gland than in the brain structures studied. Pineal glutathione peroxidase activities (micromole of GSH per minute per milligram of protein, M ± m) in young and old rats were 1.52 ± 0.07 and 1.27 ± 0.06, respectively (p < 0.05). The decline in enzymatic activity found in the aged rats could be due to an age-associated decrease in selenium levels in the pineal gland. This decline may be one of the manifestations of the pineal gland’s functional involution.
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