Preconditioning with ozone/oxygen mixture induces reversion of some indicators of oxidative stress and prevents organic damage in rats with fecal peritonitis

Objective and design Reactive oxygen and nitrogen species are involved in the pathogenesis of sepsis syndrome with peritonitis and the septic shock. The aim of this study was to determine whether ozone oxidative preconditioning (OOP) may exert beneficial effects in the prevention and treatment of sepsis syndrome in rats inoculated by the intraperitoneal route (i.p.) with fecal material and also to determine if antioxidant enzymes such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) may exert protective effects against this systemic inflammatory disorder. Materials and methods Male Wistar rats were used. SOD and GPx activities were determined in erythrocytes. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) content as biomarkers of oxidative stress, alanine amino transferase (ALT), aspartate amino transferase (AST) and creatinine (CRE) were measured in blood serum and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in lung tissue as markers of organs damage. Results In rats submitted to OOP, SOD and GPx activities were significantly increased and it was accompanied by significant decrease of TBARS content in blood serum. OOP also significantly reduced levels of ALT, AST and CRE in blood serum as well as MPO in rat lung. Conclusion The results support the important role of SOD and GPx in the protective effects of OOP against organ damage induced by fecal peritonitis in rats.