Parameters of the oxidative status of the brain and blood plasma were measured in rats 24 h after 1-h focal cerebral ischemia. In the brain of rats exposed to cerebral ischemia, activities of superoxide dismutase and catalase were elevated. Ischemia reduced the total antioxidant activity of the brain and the levels of malonic dialdehyde and protein carbonyl derivatives. In the blood plasma of experimental rats, superoxide dismutase activity and malonic dialdehyde level increased and total antioxidant activity decreased, i.e. the shifts were similar to those in the brain. The ischemia-induced changes in the brain and blood were not always co-directed.
Keywords: blood plasma; brain; focal cerebral ischemia; oxidative stress.