Effects of ozone exposure on the lungs and the erythrocytes of rats and monkeys: relative biochemical changes.

Ozone exposure (0.5 p.p.m., 8 hours daily for 7 days) resulted in a 20-26% (P less than 0.05) increase in the level of reduced glutathione (GSH), and the activities of the GSH peroxidase system in rat lungs. The increases were of smaller magnitude (10-15%) in the lungs of ozone-exposed monkeys. No significant changes were observed in these parameters in the erythrocytes of ozone-exposed and control animals of the two species. The results suggest that rats may be more sensitive to ozone than monkeys in terms of biochemical lesions in the lung, and that ozone effects are manifested primarily in the lung.