Effects of dried fish on antioxidant levels in rat liver

Short-term feeding studies were carried out to investigate the effect of ingestion of salted dried fish on alterations in tissue lipid peroxidation and modulation of the activities of detoxification enzymes in liver in order to study the induction of oxidative stress. Rats were fed diets with either 5, 10 and 20% dried mackerel for 4 weeks and levels of antioxidants in liver were estimated. The results showed that the fish intake at 10 and 20% dietary level reduced glutathione with a reciprocal increase in thiobarbituric acid reactive substances and a concomitant decrease in antioxidant vitamins A and C contents in liver. A significant decline in the activities of hepatic glutathione peroxidase and glutathione reductase were also observed at these levels of fish consumption. Kidney gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity on the other hand was increased abnormally at 20% fish intake. The results suggested that the dried fish consumption at higher concentrations (at 10 and 20%) for a short period caused lowering of the activities of antioxidative enzymes thereby inducing oxidative stress in rat liver.