Plant-based n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA) possess a prospective antiatherogenic potential. Currant oil from Ribes nigrum L. is one of the few plant oils containing PUFAn-3 (15.3 mol%) in addition to PUFAn-6 (60.5 mol%). This study was aimed at comparing the effects of currant oil with those of lard fat, rich in saturated (43.8 mol%) and monounsaturated (47.0 mol%) fatty acids, on antioxidant parameters, the lipoprotein profile and liver lipids in rats fed on 1 % (w/w) cholesterol diets containing either 10 % of currant oil (COD) or lard fat (LFD). After 3 weeks of feeding, the COD induced a significant decrease in blood glutathione (GSH) and an increase in Cu2+ induced oxidizability of serum lipids, but did not affect liver GSH and t-butyl hydroperoxide-induced lipoperoxidation of liver microsomes. Although the COD did not cause accumulation of liver triacylglycerols as LFD, the lipoprotein profile (VLDL, LDL, HDL) was not significantly improved after COD. The consumption of PUFAn-3 was reflected in LDL as an increase in eicosapentaenoic and docosahexaenoic acid. These results suggest that currant oil affects positively the lipid metabolism in the liver, above all it does not cause the development of a fatty liver. However, adverse effects of currant oil on the antioxidant status in the blood still remain of concern., R. Večeřa, N. Škottová, P. Váňa, L. Kazdová, Z. Chmela, Z. Švagera, D. Walterová, J. Ulrichová, V. Šimánek., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The consequences of increased oxidative stress, measured as the level of malondialdehyde (MDA) during ischemia/reperfusion, were studied in 48 patients in the acute phase of myocardial infarction (AMI) and a control group (21 blood donors). The serum levels of a-tocopherol and b-carotene were followed. Immediately after the treatment onset the level of a-tocopherol started to decrease, reaching a plateau after 24 h. The consumption of b-carotene was delayed by 90 min. Steady decline was detected during the whole time interval studied (48 h). Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity, as a representative of antioxidant enzymes, was estimated in whole blood. The influx of oxygenated blood was accompanied by a stimulation of GPx activity, which reached its maximum at the time of completed reperfusion. When comparing the AMI patients with the control group, the levels of MDA were found significantly increased, which indicates that oxidative stress is already increased during ischemia. Lower antioxidant levels found in the patients might either already be the result of vitamin consumption during ischemia or be a manifestation of their susceptibility to AMI. Monitored consumption of a-tocopherol and b-carotene during reperfusion indicated that in the case of patients, whose level of antioxidant vitamins is below the threshold limit, a further substantial decrease of antioxidant vitamins during reperfusion could enhance the oxidative damage of the myocardium., V. Mužáková, R. Kanďár, P. Vojtíšek, J. Skalický, R. Vaňková, A. Čegan, Z. Červinková., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Experimental data on the effect of nicotine on cerebral microvessel thrombosis is lacking. Therefore, this study was carried out to elucidate the effects of nicotine on platelet aggregation in cerebral (pial) microcirculation of the mouse, and the possible protective effect of vitamins C and E. Male TO mice were divided into six groups, and injected i.p. with saline as a control, nicotine (1 mg/kg), vi tamin C alone (100 mg/kg), vitamin E alone (100 mg/kg), nicotine plus vitamin C or nicotine plus vitamin E, all for one week before the experiment. After one week, platelet aggregation in ce rebral microvessels of these groups of mice were studied in vivo . The appearance of the first platelet aggregation and total blood flow stop in arterioles and venules were timed in seconds. In the animals treated with nicotine, venules did not show any alteration in the platelet aggregation time in comparison to the control animals. However, in arterioles platelet aggreg ation time was significantly accelerated (p<0.001) in nicotine-treated animals as compared to controls. Both vitamins C and E prevented the shortening of arteriolar platelet aggregation ti me significantly (p<0.001) when applied with nicotine but not alone. It can be concluded that nicotine enhances the susceptibility to thrombosis in the cerebral arterioles in vivo and that vitamins C and E have alleviating effect on nicotine-induced thrombotic events in mice pial microvessels., M. A. Fahim ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Various reactive oxygen species (ROS) may be produced from normal biochemical, essential metabolic processes or from external sources as exposure to a variety of agents presented in the environment. Lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and DNA are all capable of reacting with ROS and can be implicated in etiology of various human disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, reperfusion injury, atherosclerosis, lung diseases etc.). In the organism damage by ROS is counteracted with natural antioxidants (glutathione peroxidases, superoxide dismutases, catalase, glutathione, ubiquinol, uric acid, and essential minerals) and nutritional antioxidants from diet (i.e. vitamins E, C, carotenoids). Possible mechanisms of nutritional depletion and side effects of high intake are in the article described., Z. Zadák ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje seznam literatury