The toxic properties of ethanol are inextricably linked to oxidative stress. Despite many reports on the effects of alcohol dependence on blood redox homeostasis, there are no data on the oxidative stress profile in alcohol-poisoned cases. There are also no data on the diagnostic usefulness of redox biomarkers determined post-mortem in various biological fluids. This work investigates the utility of enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant barrier, redox status, and oxidative/nitrosative stress biomarkers in different biological fluids (such as blood, urine, vitreous humor, and cerebrospinal fluid) in the post-mortem study of patients with acute alcohol intoxication. The study group included those who died due to acute ethanol intoxication (n = 22). The research showed a significant increase in glutathione peroxidase activity, total antioxidant status, ferric reducing antioxidant power, and tryptophan concentration only in the study group's urine compared to the control. In other circulating fluids, both antioxidant enzyme activities and glycoxidation product concentrations were not significantly different in individuals who died of alcohol overdose compared with those who died suddenly. We also did not observe a connection between oxidation-reduction balance and the amount of alcohol consumed before death. These unexpected observations may be caused by irreversible post-mortem changes occurring at the cellular level due to autolysis and putrefaction. In summary, the use of circulating body fluids to assess redox homeostasis is limited in the post-mortem analysis. Our results indicate the increased stability of urine collected post mortem compared to other circulating bioliquids. Further studies are needed to assess the intensity of oxidative and carbonyl stress in ethanol-damaged organs and the effects of post-mortem processes on cellular redox balance.
Keywords: alcohol poisoning; alcohol toxicity; circulating biomarkers; oxidative stress; redox biomarkers.