Effect of butylhydroxytoluene on lactate dehydrogenase and glucose 6 phosphate dehydrogenase activities in rat tissues

Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) is primarily used as a food additive for its antioxidant properties. This product has also been documented as an antioxidant additive in a variety of products such as cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, rubber, electrical transformer oil, and embalming fluid. LDH is a stable cytoplasmic enzyme found in all cells. LDH is rapidly released into the cell culture supernatant when the plasma membrane is damaged. The glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH) enzyme is one of the most important enzymes of the pentose phosphate metabolic pathway. In this study, the effect of BHT exposure on LDH and G6PDH activities in liver, kidney, brain and lung tissues of rats was investigated. LDH and G6PDH activity were monitored, cytotoxicity caused by BHT was evaluated and damage in the studied tissues was interpreted. Wistar-Albino rats weighing 200-250gr were used in the study. The animals were divided into control and experimental groups, and 3 rats were handled each time for the experimental group and the control group. 125, 250 and 500 mg/kg doses of BHT were administered intraperitoneally. 12 hours and 24 hours following injection, the rats were killed by cervical dislocation and liver, kidney, brain and lung tissues were removed quickly. The activities of LDH and G6PDH were determined. Our result showed that BHT administration increases LDH activities significantly in the brain compared to the control groups. However, a significant decrease in LDH activities was observed in the liver and kidney. Although G6PDH activity showed decreases and increases compared to control values, these differences are statistically insignificant.