Objectives: Octabromodiphenyl ether (OctaBDE) was used as a flame retardant applied mostly in the manufacture of plastics utilized in the electrical and electronic industries. Owing to its long half-life and being regarded as an environmental pollutant, OctaBDE, like other polybrominated diphenyl ethers, has been classified as a persistent organic pollutant (POP). This study was carried out to assess the effects of oxidative stress (redox homeostasis) induced in rats by OctaBDE.
Material and methods: Female Wistar rats exposed intragastrically to OctaBDE at single (25, 200 or 2000 mg/kg b.w.), or repeated (0.4, 2, 8, 40 or 200 mg/kg/day) doses during 7-28 days were used in the experiment. Selected oxidative stress parameters were determined in the liver and blood serum.
Results: Administration (single or repeated) of OctaBDE to rats resulted in the impaired redox homeostasis, as evidenced by the increased levels of reduced (GSH) and oxidized (GSSG) glutathione in the liver, the reduced total antioxidant status (TAS) in serum and the increased concentration of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the liver. After multiple doses of OctaBDE, elevated activity of glutathione transferase (GST) in the liver was also noted.
Conclusions: After repeated administration of OctaBDE at the lowest dose (0.4 mg/kg/day), changes were observed in the parameters (MDA, TAS, GSSG) indicative of oxidative stress.