Reduced antioxidant defense capacity in myocardial tissue from guinea pigs treated with 5-fluorouracil.

Antioxidant defense capacity was investigated in myocardial tissue from guinea pigs treated with 5-fluorouracil (5-FU) at a dose of 400 mg/kg/d daily for 5 d administered intraperitonally. Treatment with 5-FU lowered the activities of cardiac superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) accompanied by higher catalase (CAT) activity. Further, antioxidant potential (AOP) values were lower but oxidation resistance (OR) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels were higher in the 5-FU-treated tissue. With regard to myocardial iron (Fe) and copper (Cu) levels, no significant differences were found between the groups. Results suggest that 5-FU treatment causes impairment in the myocardial antioxidant defense system and leads to cardiac peroxidation. It has been postulated that these changes might be responsible for the 5-FU cardiotoxicity seen in some patients, and antioxidant therapy might provide a therapeutic advantage.