Effect In Vivo of Cigarette Smoke on Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidant status in Male albino Mice

Cigarette smoke (CS) contains free radicals that are considered to be a major group of carcinogens. Wistar mice were exposed to cigarette smoke for 16 weeks, 2cigarettes for 15 min/ twice daily, 6 days/wk. The control animals (C) inhaled clean room air. Biochemical markers in blood and lung tissues were analyzed. There was gradual increase in the lipid peroxidation indicated by augmented levels of thiobarbituric acid reacting substances (TBARS) in the lung tissue of cigarette smoke exposed animals when compared with that of control group. The enzymatic antioxidant levels such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) were decreased significantly in CS exposed animals. The activity level of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) was increased in CS group when compared with that of control. The Nonenzymatic antioxidants such as vitamin-C and vitaminE were decreased significantly in the serum of CS exposed mice. These results revealed that chronic exposure to cigarette smoke enhances oxidative stress in mice.