Aim

For centuries, silver has been used to combat diseases and to extend the shelf life of food. Today, it is applied in nearly every branch of industry. This study demonstrates the effects of nanosilver on oxidative stress parameters in the liver of rats.

Material and methods

The in vivo experiment was conducted on 10-week-old male Fischer 344p rats with initial body weight of 206.0 ±1.65 g. Rats from the control group were administered 0.9% NaCl solution intravenously in the same way as a single dose (group IK), or per os for 28 days (group PK).

Results

The route of administration significantly affected glutathione peroxidase activity in both the experimental intervention and control groups (p = 0.0000). When nanoparticles are administered per os, the activity of the enzyme is significantly higher. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity following a single intravenous administration was statistically significantly higher (p ≤ 0.005) in the experimental group compared with the control group. No such relationship was observed for the oral (per os) route of administration. A statistically significant difference in the concentration of carbonyl groups was observed following oral administration, with higher levels in the control group than in the experimental group (p ≤ 0.001).

Conclusions

Experimental animal studies indicate that silver nanoparticles are not biologically neutral for living organisms. Depending on the route of administration and the applied dose, nanosilver affects specific enzymes forming the antioxidant barrier, which may lead to disturbances in oxidative balance between reactive oxygen species (ROS) and antioxidants.