Biochemical studies on some blood oxidants and antioxidants in current cigarette smokers

Abstract EN

Introduction : Cigarette smoking kills over 400.000 people a year, making it the main cause of death and disability in developed countries.

It is widely believed that cigarette smoking has been implicated in the pathogenesis of ischemic heart disease, emphysema, obstructive lung disease and neoplastic disorders.

The risk of complications from cigarette smoking is related to total lifetime exposure to cigarette smokes is measured by the number of cigarette smoked each day, the age at which smoking began and the number of years a person has smoked (smoking duration).

Aim of the work : The present study aimed to investigate the effect of smoking on lipid peroxidation measured as malonydialdehyde (MDA) and antioxidants superoxide dismutase (SOD), tocopherol (VitE) and ascorbic acid (VitC) in serum of cigarette smokers.

Serum lipid profile was also determined in our work including serum cholesterol (Ch), Triglycerides (TG), high density lipoprotein-Ch (HDL-Ch), low density lipoprotein-Ch (LDLCh), risk estimation (LDL-Ch / HDL-Ch), and (Ch / HDL-Ch).

This study was carried out through different duration of smoking, different age and different amounts of cigarette smoked per day.

Results : Results showed that levels of the Ch, TG, LDL-Ch, risk estimation for atherosclerosis (Ch/ HDL), and (LDL- Ch/ HDL- Ch), MDA were significantly increased in cases smoking cigarettes HDL-Ch, blood SOD, tocopherol and ascorbic acid were significantly decreased in the smoking group.

Discussion and conclusion: The disturbance of oxidant / antioxidant balance enhanced us to advise smokers to obtain sufficient amounts of antioxidants in their diet and give up cigarette smoking.