Zinc supplementation ameliorates static magnetic field-induced oxidative stress in rat tissues

The present study was undertaken to find out the effect of zinc supplementation on the antioxidant enzymatic system, lipid peroxidation and DNA oxidation in liver and kidney of static magnetic field (SMF) exposed rats. The exposure of rats to SMF (128 mT, 1 h/day during 30 consecutive days) decreased the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and the superoxide dismutase (SOD) in liver and kidney. By contrast, sub-chronic exposure to SMF increased the malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration in liver and kidney. Our results revealed an increase of the 8-oxo-7,8-dihydro-2'-desoxyguanosine (8-oxodGuo) in kidney of SMF-exposed rats. However, this biomarker of DNA oxidation remained unchanged in liver. Zinc supplementation (ZnCl2, 40 mg/l, per os) in SMF-exposed rats restored the activities of GPx, CAT and SOD in liver to those of control group. However, only CAT activity was restored in kidney. Moreover, zinc administration was able to bring down the elevated levels of MDA in the liver but not in the kidney. Interestingly, zinc supplementation attenuated DNA oxidation induced by SMF in kidney to the control level. Our investigations suggested that zinc supplementation minimizes oxidative damage induced by SMF in rat tissues. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.