Abstract
The liver is the main organ responsible for the metabolism of ethanol, which suffers significantly as a result of tissue damage due to oxidative stress. It is known that C(60) fullerenes are able to efficiently capture and inactivate reactive oxygen species in in vivo and in vitro systems. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether water-soluble C(60) fullerene reduces the level of pathological process development in the liver of rats induced by chronic alcohol intoxication for 3, 6, and 9 months, depending on the daily dose (oral administration; 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/kg) of C(60) fullerene throughout the experiment. In this context, the morphology of the C(60) fullerene nanoparticles in aqueous solution was studied using atomic force microscopy. Such biochemical parameters of experimental animal blood as ALT (alanine aminotransferase), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase) and ALP (alkaline phosphatase) enzyme activities, CDT (carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) level, values of pro-antioxidant balance indicators (concentrations of H(2)O(2) (hydrogen peroxide) and GSH (reduced glutathione), activities of CAT (catalase), SOD (superoxide dismutase) and GP(x) (selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase)), and pathohistological and morphometric features of liver damage were analyzed. The most significant positive change in the studied biochemical parameters (up to 29 ± 2% relative to the control), as markers of liver damage, was recorded at the combined administration of alcohol (40% ethanol in drinking water) and water-soluble C(60) fullerenes in the optimal dose of 1 mg/kg, which was confirmed by small histopathological changes in the liver of rats. The obtained results prove the prospective use of C(60) fullerenes as powerful antioxidants for the mitigation of pathological conditions of the liver arising under prolonged alcohol intoxication.