Effect of short-term hypothermia on lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzyme activity in rats

This experiment was carried out to determine the effect of short-term hypothermia on blood malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G-6-PD) concentrations in rats. Twenty Sprague-Dawley rats were used weighing 180-200 g and on average 3.5 months old. They were randomly divided into two experimental groups: control (without cooling) and hypothermic (with cooling). The rats of the hypothermic group were cooled by immersion into cold water (10-12 degrees C), and the control rats were immersed into water of body temperature (37 degrees C) up to the neck without using any anaesthetic or tranquilizer for 3 min Rectal body temperatures of both groups were measured and blood samples to analyse MDA, GSH, SOD, GSH, GSH-Px and G-6-PD were collected immediately after the treatment. It was found that the MDA level was higher and the GSH and G-6-PD levels were lower in the hypothermic group than those in the controls. There was no difference between the control or hypothermic group regarding SOD or GSH-Px levels. It is concluded that acute hypothermia increased the lipid peroxidation and decreased the GSH and G-6-PD levels in rats.