Antioxidant enzyme levels in the erythrocytes of riboflavin-deficient and Trichinella spiralis-infected rats.

The erythrocyte antioxidant enzyme levels of catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) of riboflavin-deficient and Trichinella spiralis-infected rats were investigated. The rats were deprived of riboflavin at the 8 th week of the experiment. At that time, the erythrocyte glutathione reductase activity coefficient (EGR AC), as an indicator of riboflavin status, was ≥ 1.30 in rats fed a riboflavin-deficient diet and T. spiralis-infected rats fed a riboflavin-deficient diet showed no biochemical sign of riboflavin deficiency. At the 12 th week of the experiment, the levels of catalase, SOD and GSH-Px were significantly lower in the riboflavin-deficient, T. spiralis- infected, and combined riboflavin-deficient and T. spiralis-infected, rats, compared to the control group. This may have been due to an increase in free oxygen radicals caused by riboflavin deficiency and parasitic infection.