Correlations of Reduced Glutathione and Glutathione Peroxidase Activities with Biochemical Markers of Liver and Kidney Damage in Trypanosoma brucei brucei Infected Rats

The correlations of reduced glutathione (GSH) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) levels with biochemical markers of liver andkidney damage in Trypanosoma brucei infection were studied in rats. Forty adult male rats divided into 2 groups of control andinfected were used. Infected rats were inoculated intraperitoneally with 1.0 ml of blood at concentration of 1 x 106 trypanosomesper ml. Serum and tissue samples were collected on days 0, 3, 5 and 7 post-infection (pi) for biochemical analyses. Serum GPxactivity had a significant (p < 0.05) positive correlations with liver (r = 0.96) and kidney GSH (r = 0.93) levels. All the measuredserum parameters had significant (p < 0.05) negative correlations with serum GPx activity. In conclusion infection of rats withT. b. brucei caused a decrease in the serum GPx activities and organ GSH levels with increasing parasitaemia and duration ofthe infection. Keywords: Trypanosoma brucei brucei; Oxidative stress; Glutathione peroxidase; Glutathione; Liver and kidney functio