Oxidant/antioxidant status in cattle with liver cystic echinococcosis

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the changes of antioxidants and oxidative stress markers in cattle with cystic echinococcosis (CE). Thirty cattle with liver CE along with 30 healthy cattle were used for the study. Parasitized cattle presented a significantly higher lipid peroxidation assessed by the malondialdehyde (MDA) compared with healthy animals (P<0.05). A significantly lower erythrocyte superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PD), and a significantly higher erythrocyte glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the parasitized group, were observed when compared with healthy group (P<0.05). No significant differences were observed for serum total antioxidant status (TAS), zinc, copper and iron between parasitized and healthy groups. The results obtained in this study suggest that CE in cattle induces changes in the activity of antioxidant enzymes. These changes render host cells susceptible to oxidants and exaggerate the generation of free radicals with a consequent lipid peroxidation enhancement.