Abstract
Pesticides cause oxidative stress and adversely influence Na+-K+-ATPase activity in animals. Since impact of carbofuran has not been properly studied in the mammalian brain, the ability of carbofuran to induce oxidative stress and modulation in Na+-K+-ATPase activity and its amelioration by vitamin E was performed. The rats divided into six groups received two different doses of carbofuran (15% and 30% LD50) for 15 days. The results suggested that the carbofuran treatment caused a significant elevation in levels of malonaldehyde and reduced glutathione and sharp inhibition in the activities of super oxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione-S-transferase; the effect being dose dependent. Carbofuran at different doses also caused sharp reduction in the activity of Na+-K+-ATPase. The pretreatment of vitamin E, however, showed a significant recovery in these indices. The pretreatment of rats with vitamin E offered protection from carbofuran-induced oxidative stress. (C) 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.