Furthermore, Prist did not change the sulfhydryl content of a commercial solution of GSH in a cell free medium, indicating that it does not directly oxidize thiol groups. Considering that GSH is an important measurement of the antioxidant

defenses of a tissue (Halliwell and Gutteridge, 2007), it can be therefore assumed that the rat cortical non-enzymatic antioxidant defenses were compromised by Prist. L-NAME, a selective inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase activity, did not alter the increase of TBA-RS values and the decrease of GSH levels caused by Prist. These data, allied to the fact that this fatty acid did not induce nitrogen reactive species formation, as determined by nitrates and BYL719 purchase nitrites generation, strongly indicate that Prist pro-oxidant effects (induction of lipid and protein oxidative damage and reduction of GSH levels) in cerebral cortex were probably mediated by the generation of reactive oxygen species, especially peroxyl and hydroxyl radicals. Regarding the peroxyl radical, which is an end product of lipid click here oxidation, it is conceivable that it was produced by the oxidative attack to lipid membranes (Delanty and Dichter, 1998, Halliwell and Whiteman,

2004 and Halliwell and Gutteridge, 2007). Furthermore, the hydroxyl radical is mainly produced by the Fenton reaction from hydrogen peroxide, which is formed

from superoxide (Adam-Vizi, 2005). Our present data strongly indicate that Prist induces oxidative stress in rat brain, a deleterious cell condition that results from an imbalance between the total antioxidant defenses and the pro-oxidant effects in a tissue (Halliwell and Gutteridge, 2007). At this point, it should be emphasized that the brain has low cerebral antioxidant defenses and a high lipid and iron content compared with other tissues (Halliwell, 1992 and Halliwell and Gutteridge, cAMP 2007), a fact that makes this tissue more vulnerable to increased reactive species. We used cortical supernatants in our present study because these preparations are frequently used as model systems to evaluate important pro-oxidant and antioxidant parameters of oxidative stress (Cadenas et al., 1981, Gonzalez Flecha et al., 1991, Lores Arnaiz and Llesuy, 1993, Llesuy et al., 1994, Evelson et al., 2001 and Halliwell and Gutteridge, 2007). In fact, tissue supernatants contain the whole cell machinery including preserved organelles such as mitochondria (the major source of free radical generation) and enzymes that are necessary for free radical production and scavenge (Stocks et al., 1974, Cadenas et al., 1981, Llesuy et al., 1994, Evelson et al., 2001 and Dresch et al., 2009).