Effect of Selected Antiretroviral Drugs on Malondialdehyde (MDA) and Catalase Levels in Healthy Rat Tissues

The study assessed the effect of selected antiretroviral drugs used in the management of HIV/AIDS on the oxidative stress marker malondialdehyde (as TBARs) and the antioxidant enzyme, Catalase, of the liver and kidney tissues of healthy albino rats. 0.43, 0.43, 0.27, and 0.21mg/kg of Efavirenz, Abacavir, SNP 40 and Lamivudine respectively, were orally administered to four different groups of albino rats for seven days. The control group received normal saline. On the eighth day, the rats were sacrificed and the liver and kidney tissues were collected for Lipid peroxidation and Catalase activity analysis. Efavirenz and Lamivudine caused significant decrease (P<0.05) in lipid peroxidation in the liver while the reverse was obtained for Abacavir and SNP 40. SNP 40 caused a significant decrease (P<0.05) in lipid peroxidation in the kidney while the other drugs did not result in a significant change (p>0.05) compared to the control. All the drugs caused significant increase (P<0.05) in Catalase activity in the liver and a significant decrease (P<0.05) in Catalase activity in the kidney. Taken together, the present observation suggests that the effects of antiretroviral drugs on oxidative stress markers (such as MDA) and on antioxidant enzymes (such as catalase) in healthy as well as in HIV infected humans (by way of extrapolation) may vary from drug to drug and from organ to organ. We therefore advocate for extensive clinical research to investigate the influence of antiretroviral drugs on antioxidants enzymes in HIV and HIV/AIDS patients.