Palliative activity of taurine against oxidative stress induced by gamma radiation in male albino rats

Abstract

Ionizing radiation is used in the diagnosis and treatment of human diseases. It has deleterious effects on living organisms, though. The deleterious effects of IR on tissues come from its direct and/or indirect effect through the production of free radicals that lead to oxidative stress in which oxidants exceed antioxidants. Liver and brain are susceptible to the deleterious effects of IR. Liver is the most active metabolic organ with high concentration of cytochrome-P450. Brain has the highest consumption of oxygen; ~1/4 of the circulating oxygen from blood, it also has a high concentration of oxidizable substrates mainly catecholamines and polyunsaturated fatty acids. Furthermore, the brain is poor in antioxidants. Much of the damage seen after irradiation can be ameliorated by antioxidants. Taurine is a simple sulfur-containing amino acid that exists in free form in mammals. It is endogenously synthesized from cysteine and methionine and ingested directly with certain foodstuffs. Taurine has several beneficial effects including antioxidation, detoxification, osmoregulation, calcium homeostasis, cell membrane stabilization, and neuromodulation. The present study aimed to investigate the prophylactic and therapeutic effects of taurine against γ-irradiation in male rats.