Serum lipid peroxide levels of albino rats administered naphthalene.

When naphthalene was administered at a daily dose of 1 g/kg body weight to Wistar strain rats, their serum lipid peroxide levels were increased on the 4th day after the first administration and reached a maximum on the 7th day. This seems to be due to lipid peroxidation in the liver, in which lipid peroxide levels were increased in a similar pattern as those in the serum. The content of reduced glutathione in lenses of naphthalene-administered rats decreased on the 4th day. These results suggest that in naphthalene-induced cataract in albino rats increased lipid peroxides in the bloodstream may play a role in cataractogenesis.