Antioxidant vitamins C, E and coenzyme Q10 vs Dexamethasone: comparisons of their effects in pulmonary contusion model

BACKGROUND: The goal of our study is to evaluate the effects of antioxidant vitamins (vitamin C and E), Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) and dexamethasone (Dxm) in experimental rat models with pulmonary contusion (PC). METHODS: Rats were randomly divided into six groups. Except for the control, all subgroups had a moderate pulmonary contusion. Animals in the group I and group II received intraperitoneal saline, group III received 10mg.kg-1 CoQ10 group IV received 100mg.kg-1 vitamin C, group V received 150mg.kg-1 vitamin E, and group VI received 10mg.kg-1 Dxm. Blood gas analysis, serum nitric oxide (NO) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels as well as superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity assays, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid and histopathological examination were performed. RESULTS: Administration of CoQ10 resulted in a significant increase in PaO2 values compared with the group I (p = 0.004). Levels of plasma MDA in group II were significantly higher than those in the group I (p = 0.01). Early administration of vitamin C, CoQ10, and Dxm significantly decreased the levels of MDA (p = 0.01). Lung contusion due to blunt trauma significantly decreased SOD activities in rat lung tissue compared with group I (p = 0.01). SOD levels were significantly elevated in animals treated with CoQ10, Vitamin E, or Dxm compared with group II (p = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: In our study, CoQ10, vitamin C, vitamin E and Dxm had a protective effect on the biochemical and histopathological outcome of PC after experimental blunt thorax trauma.