C60 Fullerene Reduces the Level of Liver Damage in Chronic Alcohol Intoxication of Rats.

The liver is the main organ responsible for the metabolism of ethanol, which suffers significantly as a result of tissue damage due to oxidative stress. It is known that C₆₀ fullerenes are able to efficiently capture and inactivate reactive oxygen species in in vivo and in vitro systems. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to determine whether water-soluble C₆₀ fullerene reduces the level of pathological process development in the liver of rats induced by chronic alcohol intoxication for 3, 6, and 9 months, depending on the daily dose (oral administration; 0.5, 1, and 2 mg/kg) of C₆₀ fullerene throughout the experiment. In this context, the morphology of the C₆₀ fullerene nanoparticles in aqueous solution was studied using atomic force microscopy. Such biochemical parameters of experimental animal blood as ALT (alanine aminotransferase), AST (aspartate aminotransferase), GGT (gamma-glutamyl transferase) and ALP (alkaline phosphatase) enzyme activities, CDT (carbohydrate-deficient transferrin) level, values of pro-antioxidant balance indicators (concentrations of H₂O₂ (hydrogen peroxide) and GSH (reduced glutathione), activities of CAT (catalase), SOD (superoxide dismutase) and GPx (selenium-dependent glutathione peroxidase)), and pathohistological and morphometric features of liver damage were analyzed. The most significant positive change in the studied biochemical parameters (up to 29 ± 2% relative to the control), as markers of liver damage, was recorded at the combined administration of alcohol (40% ethanol in drinking water) and water-soluble C₆₀ fullerenes in the optimal dose of 1 mg/kg, which was confirmed by small histopathological changes in the liver of rats. The obtained results prove the prospective use of C₆₀ fullerenes as powerful antioxidants for the mitigation of pathological conditions of the liver arising under prolonged alcohol intoxication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]