Dear Dr. Rodgoun Attarian

as you know, Oxidative stress results from an imbalance between reactive oxygen species production and the antioxidant enzymatic and not enzymatic systems, leading to cell damage, and some antioxidant deficiencies may contribute to the oxidative stress occurrence,. Antioxidants protect cells against oxidative injury by preventing initiation of peroxidation process and production of the final products such as TBARS, which are able to induce severe cellular damage. The major antioxidant enzymes that are responsible for the degradation of reactive oxygen species are superoxide dismutase (which converts superoxide anion radicals to hydrogen peroxide), glutathione peroxidase and catalase (which reduce hydrogen peroxides to alcohols and to water respectively).

Regarding glutathion (GSH): marked decreases of blood GSH concentrations have been reported in in calves with Bronchopneumonia (Al-Qudah KM, 2009). The dramatic depletion of blood GSH concentrations would result from a massive and durable production of radical species during bronchopneumonia development and lead to the exacerbation of oxidative damage in lungs.

As described earlier, Sod, Gpx and Cat is the first line of defense enzymes to detoxify ROS and GSH is the first molecule which convert in GSSG with react to ROS and protect cells. It is necessary to maintain GSH and GSSG ratio for cell survival. If you supplement GSH, it can make unbalance in GSH/GSSG ratio, which can be danger. But in such a case where GSH level re-markedly decrease and ratio altered, we can maintain the ratio by supplementation of GSH, and protect cells. Every kind of cells have a range of GSH/GSSG ratio and two molecules of GSH converted in one molecule of GSSG in the presence of ROS to detoxyfy.

Dr. Al-Qudah,

Thank you for sharing your thoughts.

I need to rectify the title you used to address me.

I still have 1 more year towards completing my doctoral studies.

Thank you once again,

Kind regards,

Rodgoun