The aim of this study was to evaluate the in vitro effect of chloramphenicol in order to determine its potential toxic effects on human neutrophils, by using assays of reactive oxygen species (ROS) determination, nitrite measurement and antioxidant systems. Chloramphenicol enabled the oxidative stress response of neutrophils and increased the ROS production at 2, 4, 8 and 16 microg/ml, while ROS generation decreased at high concentrations (32 microg/ml). The nitroblue tetrazolium assay shows that neutrophils incubated with chloramphenicol increased the intracellular ROS, with the extracellular production rising with a corresponding increase in antibiotic concentration. Enzymatic activities--superoxide dismutase, catalase and diaphorase enzymes--increased after chloramphenicol treatment, while the glutathione level decreased in neutrophils incubated with antibiotic. The results obtained in the present work suggest that the study of susceptibility to oxidative stress in neutrophils before chloramphenicol treatment could be adequate for in vitro toxicity screening.