The antioxidant effect of free bilirubin on cumene-hydroperoxide treated human leukocytes.

To examine the antioxidant effect of bilirubin (BR) on leukocyte, we treated leukocytes obtained from healthy subjects with an oxidant and various concentrations of BR. High concentrations of BR decreased thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and catalase activities, increased superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, but had no effect on glutathione (GSH) concentration. Our results showed that under physiological conditions, BR has an antioxidant effect only in high concentrations.