Effects of short-term inhalation exposure to 1-nitropropane and 2-nitropropane on rat liver enzymes

Male Sprague-Dawley rats were exposed to vapors of 1-nitropropane (1-NP) and 2-nitropropane (2-NP) at air concentrations of 100 ppm for 7 hours per day on four consecutive days. Livers were analyzed for enzymatic activities after 1-, 2-, and 4-day inhalation periods. Liver microsomal cytochrome P450 was depressed by 2-NP and elevated following exposure to 1-NP. Levels of cytochrome b5 were slightly increased in rats exposed to 1-NP and remained unchanged after inhalation of 2-NP. Total glutathione (GSH), GSH S-transferase, and UDP-glucuronosyltransferase activities were enhanced by 2-NP. 1-NP induced GSH peroxidase while 2-NP did not. Glutathione reductase was not altered after exposure to either isomer. No changes in the microsomal malondialdehyde content as a measure of lipid peroxidation and in the levels of serum aspartate transferase and serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase were observed during a 4-day exposure period in either of the exposed groups compared to control animals.