Revista de diagnóstico y biomarcadores moleculares

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

Abstract

Eugène HJM Jansen, Piet Beekhof and Tatjana Ruskovska

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