evaluation of the effects of fullerene c60 nanoparticles on oxidative stress parameters in normal rats liver and brain

Background & objective: the potent antioxidant property of fullerene c60 nanoparticles and their derivatives has been demonstrated in a wide range of in vitro and in vivo studies. hence, we examined the effects of fullerene c60 on the oxidative stress parameters in brain and liver of the rats in normal situation. materials & methods: the study was performed in two groups of wistar rats (each group, n = 6); normal and fullerene-treated normal animals. treated rats received fullerene via oral gavage at dose of 1 mg/kg/day for 60 days. at termination of the study, the oxidative stress parameters were determined in brain and liver tissues, including the contents of glutathione (gsh) and malondialdehyde (mda), and the activities of catalase (cat) and superoxide dismutase (sod). the t-test was used to analyze the data between two groups. results: fullerene c60 treatment did not change blood glucose level in treated rats compared to untreated rats. fullerene c60 significantly increased the value of cat activity by 66% and mda levels by 68%, while decreased sod activity by 33% at liver of treated rats compared to untreated animals (p<0.05). fullerene administration increased significantly only cat activity of brain in the treated rats (0.34±0.10 u/mg protein) compared to untreated animals (0.12±0.03 u/mg protein), (p<0.05). conclusion: our findings indicated that oral administration of fullerene c60 nanoparticles differently changed the oxidative stress parameters in liver and brain in normal condition. it is suggested that these effects be considered for the application of these nanoparticles in various therapeutic purposes.