Effect of wastewater intake on antioxidant and marker enzymes of tissue damage in rat tissues: implications for the use of biochemical markers.

In the present study, alteration in antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione-S-transferase (GST) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and marker enzymes of tissue damage alanine transaminase (ALT), aspartate transaminase (AST) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) with laboratory exposure to wastewaters from Aligarh (AWW) and Saharanpur (SWW) were investigated in rat liver and kidney. Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), reduced glutathione (GSH) and hydrogen peroxide (H(2)O(2)) were also determined. A profound enhancement of 5 and 2.5-folds in MDA level was recorded in the liver and kidney respectively as a result of oral administration of SWW to the rats. Exposure to both AWW and SWW resulted in 3-4-fold increase in GR activity and 3-fold increase in SOD and ALT activity in the hepatic tissue compared to control values. Ingestion of AWW and SWW resulted in 3.5-fold rise in renal AST levels whereas AWW caused 75% decline in GST activity in kidney of treated rats. Results indicate that wastewater (AWW/SWW) caused severe damage to renal and hepatic tissues and the effect seems in part to be mediated by suppression of antioxidant system with GR and SOD as potential candidates for hepatic toxicity biomarkers of wastewaters.