Journal of Advanced Biomedical Sciences

Background & Objective: Paraoxon (POX) as one of the most toxic organophosphorus pesticides, is widely used in agriculture, which can reduce the antioxidant capacity of the cell. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of N-acetyl cysteine (NAC) as an antioxidant against POX-induced oxidative stress in rat liver and kidney.
Material & Methods: In the present experimental study, male Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups; control (corn oil as POX solvent), POX (0.7 mg/kg), NAC (160 mg/kg), and NAC+POX. 24 hours after the intraperitoneal injection, animals were anesthetized and the liver and kidney tissues were quickly removed. Followed by the tissues hemogenation, superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione S-transferase (GST) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) activities, as well as glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were determined by the biochemical methods. The data were statistically analyzed using the analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by the post hoc analysis using Tukey test.
Results: POX increased SOD, CAT and GST activities and decreased GSH content in rat liver and kidney as compared to control. In addition, the increased MDA level and decreased LDH activity were observed in the liver. The administration of NAC inhibited changing of these parameters.
Conclusion: The administration of NAC as antioxidant, ameliorates POX-induced oxidative stress in rat liver and kidney by scavenging the free radicals and GSH synthesis, but does not provide the complete protection.