Lipid peroxidative stress and antioxidative enzymes in brains of milk-supplemented rats

Skim milk cultured with lactic acid bacteria has been previously reported t o reduce lipid peroxidation in rat livers. In this study, the effects of sk im milk and cultured milk supplementation on peroxidative stress in brains of weanling rats were investigated. We observed a reduction of brain thioba rbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) concentration in milk-supplemente d animals as compared with controls. In brains of control rats, the superox ide dismutase (SOD) enzyme levels were significantly higher than those from the milk-supplemented animals. In addition, SOD activity in control animal brains had a positive correlation with the TBARS concentration. There was no significant differences in the brain glutathione-S-transferase (GST) lev els of all the three groups of animals. The results suggest that milk suppl ementation may be beneficial in reducing peroxidative stress in the develop ing rat brain. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.