Thiobarbituric Acid Reactive Substances TBARS Assay

Hassoun et al. (1993) examined the effects of various pesticides on lipid peroxidation and DNA single strand breakage in the hepatic cells of female Sprague-Dawley rats. Animals were dosed orally once with endrin at 4.5 mg/kg, lindane at 30 mg/kg, chlordane at 120 mg/kg, or DDT (dichlorodiphenyl trichloro-ethane) at 40 mg/kg, or vehicle only (com oil, control). At 6, 12, and 24 hours post-dosing, 4 animals from each group were sacrificed, their livers removed, and prepared for lipid peroxidation assay. Lipid peroxidation was measured calorimetrically by determining the amount of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) formed. Exposure to endrin resulted in a 14.5% increase in hepatic mitochondrial... 

The relative antioxidant activities of carotenoids in multilamellar liposomes, as assayed by inhibition of the formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs), were lycopene>a-carotene>p-cryptoxanthin >zeaxanthin= P-carotene>lutein (Stahl et al, 1998). Mixtures of carotenoids were more effective than the single compounds, and this synergistic effect was most pronounced when lycopene or lutein was present. The superior antioxidant activity of mixtures of carotenoids may be related to the specific positioning of different carotenoids within cell membranes. 

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