Abstract
This study was conducted to examine the effects of zinc oxide nanoparticles (ZnO NPs) on the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations, superoxidase dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and caspase-3 (CASP3) activities, tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), immunoglobulin (Ig) E, G, M and zinc (Zn) concentrations in the serum/plasma and liver tissues of rats. Forty Wistar Albino rats were separated into five equal groups as the control, 5 and 10 mg/kg, b.w./day ZnO, 5 and 10 mg/kg b.w./day ZnO NPs were administered i.p. every other day for 14 days. The plasma MDA and plasma/liver TNF-α concentrations increased in the 10 mg/kg ZnO, 5 and 10 mg/kg ZnO NPs groups. The plasma SOD, CASP3, plasma/liver GPx activities and serum Zn concentrations increased in all the Zn groups. The highest SOD, GPx and CASP3 activities were detected in the 5 mg/kg ZnO NPs group. The plasma IgG concentrations increased, especially in the ZnO NPs groups. The study findings suggest that 5 mg/kg ZnO NPs could potentially have an ameliorative effect on the possible adverse effects of oxidative stress. These nanoparticles demonstrate their ability to combat oxidative stress by increasing the plasma/tissue SOD, GPx, and CASP3 activities, TNF-α, and IgG concentrations. However, the effectiveness of the nanoparticles may vary depending on the synthesis method, application time, and concentration.