Table 2.
Effect of reducing litter size on oxidative parameters in liver and plasma of rats at PN21
| NL | SL | P | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liver | SOD (U (mg protein)–1) | 2138 ± 280 | 1975 ± 222 | 0.67 |
| GPx (U (mg protein)–1) | 0.332 ± 0.05 | 0.220 ± 0.01* | 0.04 | |
| CAT (U (mg protein)–1) | 0.107 ± 0.01 | 0.104 ± 0.01 | 0.82 | |
| SOD/GPx ratio | 8187 ± 1708 | 8099 ± 757 | 0.96 | |
| SOD/(GPx+CAT) ratio | 5772 ± 1033 | 5493 ± 427 | 0.82 | |
| DPPH• scavenging (%) | 15.68 ± 2.1 | 7.81 ± 2.6* | 0.03 | |
| MDA (μmol mg–1) | 73.0 ± 11.0 | 129.0 ± 17.0* | 0.02 | |
| Total protein bound carbonyl (nmol (mg protein)–1) | 150.7 ± 14.0 | 226.7 ± 24.0* | 0.02 | |
| Plasma | SOD (U (mg protein)–1) | 1861 ± 203 | 1790 ± 191 | 0.8 |
| GPx (U (mg protein)–1) | 0.037 ± 0.01 | 0.041 ± 0.01 | 0.72 | |
| CAT (U (mg protein)–1) | 0.048 ± 0.01 | 0.028 ± 0.01* | 0.04 | |
| SOD/GPx ratio | 3316 ± 805 | 7496 ± 821* | 0.006 | |
| SOD/(GPx+CAT) ratio | 3091 ± 781 | 6363 ± 697* | 0.01 | |
| MDA plasma (μmol mg–1) | 0.09 ± 0.01 | 0.22 ± 0.04* | 0.02 | |
| Total protein bound carbonyl (nmol (mg protein)–1) | 310.4 ± 60.4 | 813.5 ± 140.9* | 0.01 |
Data are presented as means ± SEM of 10 pups for NL and SL groups with level of significance (*) set at P < 0.05. SOD, superoxide dismutase; GPx, glutathione peroxidase; CAT, catalase; MDA, malondialdehyde; NL, normal litter; SL, small litter; DPPH, 2,2‐diphenyl‐1‐picrylhydrazyl.