Adjuvant-induced arthritis is an experimental immunopathology in rats that is often used as a model for studying autoimmune chronic inflammation and inflammatory cachexia. In these animals oxidative stress is quite pronounced in the articular inflammation sites. The purpose of this study was to evaluate oxidative stress in the liver of arthritic rats in which morphological and metabolic alterations have been reported to occur. Oxidative injury parameters, levels and production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), and antioxidant parameters were measured in the total liver homogenate and in subcellular fractions, namely cytosol, mitochondria, and peroxisomes. Arthritic rats presented higher levels of ROS than controls in the total homogenate (46% higher) and in all subcellular fractions (51, 38, and 55% higher for mitochondria, peroxisome, and cytosol, respectively). Arthritic rats also presented higher levels of protein carbonyl groups in the total homogenate (75%) and in all subcellular fractions (189, 227, and 260%, respectively, for mitochondria, peroxisomes, and cytosol). The TBARS levels of arthritic rats were more elevated in the total homogenate (36%), mitochondria (20%), and peroxisomes (16%). Arthritic rats also presented higher levels of NO markers in the peroxisomes (112%) and in the cytosol (35%). The catalase activity of all cell compartments was strongly diminished (between 77 and 87%) by arthritis, and glutathione peroxidase activities were diminished in the mitochondria (33.7%) and cytosol (41%). The cytosolic glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase activity, on the other hand, was increased (62.9%), the same happening with inducible peroxisomal NO synthase (119.3%). The superoxide dismutase and glutathione reductase activities were not affected. The GSH content was diminished by arthritis in all cellular compartments (50 to 59% diminution). The results reveal that the liver of rats with adjuvant-induced arthritis presents a pronounced oxidative stress and that, in consequence, injury to lipids and proteins is highly significant. The higher ROS content of the liver of arthritic rats seems to be the consequence of both a stimulated pro-oxidant system and a deficient antioxidant defense with a predominance of the latter as indicated by the strongly diminished activities of catalase and glutathione peroxidase.

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The purpose of the study was to evaluate the possible effects of the administration of a green tea extract on the oxidative state of the liver and brain of adjuvant-induced arthritic rats, a model for human rheumatoid arthritis. Daily doses of 250 mg kg(-1) (59.8 mg catechins per kg) for 23 days were administered. This treatment produced significant diminutions in protein and lipid damage in liver, brain and plasma. It also diminished the tissue ROS contents and increased the antioxidant capacity of the plasma. The antioxidant defenses, which are diminished by arthritis, were improved by the green tea treatment, as revealed by the restoration of the GSH and protein thiol levels and by the strong tendency for normalizing the activities of the antioxidant enzymes. The activity of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, which is increased by arthritis in the liver, was also almost normalized by the treatment. In conclusion, it can be said that green tea consumption is possibly beneficial for the liver and brain of patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis because it attenuates the pronounced oxidative stress that accompanies the disease and, thus, diminishes the injury to lipids and proteins in both liver and brain. There are also indications that, in the liver, the green tea can contribute to normalize the metabolic functions that are substantially modified by arthritis. For example, the green tea normalized the activity of glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, a key enzyme of an important metabolic route (pentose monophosphate pathway). It is expected that the green tea treatment is equally able to normalize the activity of other enzymes (e.g., glucokinase and glucose 6-phosphatase), a hypothesis to be tested by future work.

Leaf and root extracts of Smallanthus sonchifolius (yacon), have antihyper-glycemic activity and antioxidant properties. The present study aims to compare the in vivo hepatic antioxidant activity of hydroalcoholic extracts of yacon leaves and roots in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes in terms of their in vitro antioxidant capacity. Rats were treated during 14 days with 1060 mg•Kg −1 root extract or 400 mg•Kg −1 leaf extract. The latter was richer in phenolics and possessed a much higher in vitro antioxidant activity. Both extracts prevented hyperglycemia in diabetic rats. The liver of diabetic rats presented increased levels of protein carbonyls and ROS and decreased activities of antioxidant enzymes. Treatment with both root and leaf extracts restored the protein carbonyl levels to normality. The root extract also restored the ROS levels to normality, but the leaf extract was not effective. The root extract was also more effective in restoring the activity of at least two important antioxidant enzymes (glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase and glutathione peroxidase). In terms of the antioxidant load (which was 17 times lower in the root extract treatment), the in vivo action of the root extract was more effective than the leaf extract in reducing the hepatic oxidative stress that accompanies diabetes.

The aim of the present work was to investigate, in a more extensive way, the oxidative state and parameters related to energy metabolism of the heart tissue of rats using the model of adjuvant-induced arthritis. The latter is a model for the human arthritic disease. Measurements were done in the total tissue homogenate, isolated mitochondria and cytosolic fraction. The adjuvant-induced arthritis caused several modifications in the oxidative state of the heart which, in general, indicate an increased oxidative stress (+80% reactive oxygen species), protein damage (+53% protein carbonyls) and lipid damage (+63% peroxidation) in the whole tissue. The distribution of these changes over the various cell compartments was frequently unequal. For example, protein carbonyls were increased in the whole tissue and in the cytosol, but not in the mitochondria. No changes in GSH content of the whole tissue were found, but it was increased in the mitochondria (+33%) and decreased in the cytosol (-19%). The activity of succinate dehydrogenase was 77% stimulated by arthritis; the activities of glutamate dehydrogenase, isocitrate dehydrogenase and cytochrome c oxidase were diminished by 31, 25 and 35.3%, respectively. In spite of these alterations, no changes in the mitochondrial respiratory activity and in the efficiency of energy transduction were found. It can be concluded that the adjuvant-induced arthritis in rats causes oxidative damage to the heart with an unequal intracellular distribution. Compared to the liver and brain the modifications caused by arthritis in the heart are less pronounced on variables such as GSH levels and protein integrity. Possibly this occurs because the antioxidant system of the heart is less impaired by arthritis than that reported for the former tissues. Even so, the modifications caused by arthritis represent an imbalanced situation that probably contributes to the cardiac symptoms of the arthritis disease.