Antioxidant status of rats administered silver nanoparticles orally

Silver nanoparticles are being used increasingly for biomedical purposes because of their broad antimicrobial potential. Their effects on cellular systems, however, have been addressed in only a few studies. We evaluated the effects of these nanoparticles on the antioxidant status of groups of five male Wistar rats. Six groups of rats were given 100, 1000 or 5000 mg/kg daily through an oral cannula for 7 or 14 days, one group received 5000 mg/kg for 21 days, and a control group received distilled water. The animals were sacrificed 24 h after the end of treatment, and serum and tissue homogenates were prepared. Silver nanoparticles significantly (p < 0.05) increased the concentrations of malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase but decreased the levels of reduced glutathione, glutathione S-transferase and catalase. These results indicate that silver nanoparticles may cause lipid peroxidation and alter antioxidant status in a manner that may cause oxidative stress.