Effect of chromium administration on glutathione cycle of rat intestinal epithelial cells.

Acute oral administration of K2Cr2O7 (1500 mg/kg body wt/day) for 3 days to rats led to the decrease in activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-S-transferase, superoxide dismutase and catalase of intestinal epithelial cells. Glutathione and total thiol contents were decreased while lipid peroxidation was increased markedly using the whole homogenate of the intestinal epithelial cells. Chronic oral administration of K2Cr2O7 (300 mg/kg body wt/day) for 30 days to rats on the other hand, led to marked increase in superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase activities with no appreciable change in glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase and catalase activities. However, glutathione-S-transferase activity was decreased significantly. In the whole homogenate of rat intestine, glutathione and total thiol contents were decreased not so significantly but there was a slight enhancement in lipid peroxidation value.