Effect of sodium selenite on chosen anti- and pro-oxidative parameters in rats treated with lithium: A pilot study.
BACKGROUND
Selenium is an essential element of antioxidant properties. Lithium is widely used in medicine but its administration can cause numerous side effects including oxidative stress. The present study aimed at evaluating if sodium selenite could influence chosen anti- and pro-oxidant parameters in rats treated with lithium.


METHODS
The experiment was performed on four groups of Wistar rats: I (control) - treated with saline; II (Li) - treated with lithium (2.7 mgLi/kg b.w. as Li2CO3), III (Se) - treated with selenium (0.5 mgSe/kg b.w. as Na2SeO3), IV (Li+Se) - treated with Li2CO3 and Na2SeO3 together at the same doses as in group II and III, respectively. All treatments were performed by stomach tube for three weeks in form of water solutions. The following anti- and pro-oxidant parameters: total antioxidant status (TAS) value, catalase (CAT) activity, concentrations of ascorbic acid (AA) and malonyldialdehyde (MDA) in plasma as well as whole blood superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activities were measured.


RESULTS
Selenium given alone markedly enhanced whole blood GPx and diminished plasma CAT vs.


METHODS
Lithium significantly decreased plasma CAT and slightly increased AA vs.


METHODS
Selenium co-administration restored these parameters to the values observed in control animals. Furthermore, selenium co-administration significantly increased GPx in Li-treated rats. All other parameters (TAS, SOD and MDA) were not affected by lithium and/or selenium.


CONCLUSIONS
Further research seems to be warranted to decide if application of selenium as an adjuvant in lithium therapy is worth considering.
Chair and Department of Medical Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Irena
I
Musik
Chair and Department of Medical Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland. Electronic address: joanna.kocot@umlub.pl.
Joanna
J
Kocot
Chair and Department of Medical Chemistry, Medical University of Lublin, Lublin, Poland.
Małgorzata
M
Kiełczykowska
D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004338:Drug Combinations; D008094:Lithium / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D008297:Male; D016877:Oxidants / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D018384:Oxidative Stress / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species / Q000097:blood*; D018038:Sodium Selenite / Q000008:administration & dosage*
D000975:Antioxidants; D004338:Drug Combinations; D016877:Oxidants; D017382:Reactive Oxygen Species; D008094:Lithium; D018038:Sodium Selenite
Antioxidant status; Lipid peroxidation; Lithium; Rats; Selenium