Smoking induced oxidative stress in serum and neutrophil of the university students

Cigarette smoking has been implicated as a significant risk factor for the establishment and progression of several diseases. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of smoking in serum as well as in neutrophil oxidative damage and antioxidant status. Subjects were randomly chosen from male university students (22-25 years) in a rural community in the District of Midnapore, West Bengal, India. To understand status of oxidative damage, we measured the level of lipid peroxidation (MDA), activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), and reduced glutathione (GSH) level. The MDA level and the LDH activity in serum and neutrophil were higher in smokers than the non-smokers. The activities of CAT, SOD, GPx, GR and the level of GSH were significantly lower in smokers in comparison to the non-smokers in both serum and neutrophil. These findings may suggest that, students with a short smoking history have evidence of oxidative stress and an impaired oxidant defense system. Alterations observed in smokers that increased oxidative stress can represent a risk factor for the development of chronic disease in earlier future.