Antioxidant status, lipid peroxidation, mixed function oxidase and UDP-glucuronyl transferase activities in livers from control and DOCA salt-hypertensive male Sprague Dawley rats

The effects of DOCA-salt hypertensive treatment on hepatic glutathione-depe ndent defense system, antioxidant enzymes, lipid peroxidation, mixed functi on oxidase and UDP-glucuronyl transferase activities were investigated in m ale Sprague Dawley rats. Compared with controls, DOCA-salt hypertensive rats had lower body weights (linked to liver hypertrophy). Mixed function oxidase and p-nitrophenol-UGT activities were not affected by the treatment but a significant lower rate of the glucuronoconjugation rate of bilirubin (p < 0.001) was observed in DOCA-salt hypertensive rats. While cytosolic glutathione contents and gluta thione reductase activity were not affected, glutathione peroxidase (p < 0. 001), glutathione transferase (p < 0.001) and catalase (p < 0.01) activitie s were decreased and associated with higher malondialdehyde contents (p < 0 .001) in treated rats. The imbalance in liver antioxidant status (increasin g generation of cellular radical species), associated with increases in lip id peroxidation, suggests that oxidative stress might be directly related t o arterial hypertension in DOCA-salt treated male Sprague Dawley rats.