| Abstract: | This experiment was carried out to determine the effect of short‐term hypothermia on blood malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH‐Px) and glucose‐6‐phosphate dehydrogenase (G‐6‐PD) concentrations in rats. Twenty Sprague–Dawley rats were used weighing 180–200 g and on average 3.5 months old. They were randomly divided into two experimental groups: control (without cooling) and hypothermic (with cooling). The rats of the hypothermic group were cooled by immersion into cold water (10–12 °C), and the control rats were immersed into water of body temperature (37 °C) up to the neck without using any anaesthetic or tranquilizer for 3 min Rectal body temperatures of both groups were measured and blood samples to analyse MDA, GSH, SOD, GSH, GSH‐Px and G‐6‐PD were collected immediately after the treatment. It was found that the MDA level was higher and the GSH and G‐6‐PD levels were lower in the hypothermic group than those in the controls. There was no difference between the control or hypothermic group regarding SOD or GSH‐Px levels. It is concluded that acute hypothermia increased the lipid peroxidation and decreased the GSH and G‐6‐PD levels in rats. |
