Antioxidant parameters of horses according to age, sex, breed and environment

Antioxidant defences interact to form an integrated system. There is no comprehensive and uniform view on issues concerning the antioxidant status in horses. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to estimate antioxidant parameters in horses of different age, sex and breed as well as environment and relationship between different antioxidants. Parameters of selected antioxidants including superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px), total antioxidant status (TAS), ceruloplasmin (CP), bilirubin, uric acid, zinc, copper and selenium were determined in blood of 80 clinically healthy horses. Antioxidant parameters significantly varied between horses form different environments or different breed and sex. Age of horses had no significant effect on antioxidant parameters. Significant correlation coefficients were observed between enzymatic and nonenzimatic antioxidants. The nature of the relationship between the antioxidant system in horses with respect to environmental factors is rather complex and to date only a part of system is known.