The Effect of Smoking on Biomarkers of (Anti) oxidant Status

Abstract

The influence of smoking on the levels of several biomarkers of oxidative stress, antioxidant status and redox\rstatus have been investigated in 48 healthy men with a mean age of 25 y. The biomarkers of oxidative stress are the\rreactive oxygen metabolytes (ROM) and the total oxidant status (TOS). The biomarkers for the antioxidant activity\rare the biological antioxidant potential (BAP), the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP), the total antioxidant status\r(TAS), the assay for the defense against the oxidation by hypochlorous acid (OXY) and uric acid (UA). The total thiol\rlevels (TTL) have been measured as a biomarker for the redox status.\rThe average concentration of ROM was 14% higher in smokers compared with non-smokers (p<0.05), whereas\rTOS was 4.9% higher (not statistically significant).The average concentrations of BAP, FRAP and TAS decreased\rwith smoking with 3.6 (p<0.025), 3.6 (non-significant) and 6.1% (p<0.025), respectively. Alsouric acid, the main\rantioxidant in serum and a major contributor to the antioxidant status in serum, decreased by 10.6 % (p<0.025) in\rsmokers. The biomarker of the redox status (TTL) was not influenced by smoking.\rFrom these results, it is concluded that in epidemiological studies the effect of smoking should be taken in\raccount when using oxidative stress and antioxidant biomarkers.