N-acetylcysteine protects against fluoride-induced oxidative damage in primary rat hepatocytes

• The influence of fluoride ions onto the antioxidative balance in rat hepatocyte.
• Fluoride ions changed hepatocyte oxidative homeostasis.
• NAC alleviates the negative effects of fluoride ions.
• Pre-incubation of hepatocytes with NAC maintains redox homeostasis to a greater.

Fluoride induces the overproduction of free radicals, which might in turn affect various biochemical parameters. Therefore, the aim of this study was to elucidate the role of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in decreasing fluoride-induced oxidative stress. The fluoride intoxicated (0.002; 0.082; 0.164 mmol/l) rat hepatocytes was pre-treated (60 min) and simultaneously treated with NAC (1 mmol/l). The resulting levels of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR) and intracellular reduced glutathione (GSH) were measured along with the total antioxidant status (TAS) to determine whether NAC treatment reduced cell damage and/or the antioxidant state. These results suggest that NAC pre-treatment provides protection against fluoride-induced oxidative stress in hepatocytes.