DOI: 10.36347/sjams.2015.v03i05.034

Pages: 1961-1964

The prevalence of allergic rhinitis (AR) increases continuously worldwide. Among various factors, excessive production of free radicals has been implicated in the development of allergic rhinitis. The objectives of present study were to ascertain the plasma total antioxidant activity (TAA) and erythrocyte malondialdehyde (MDA) levels in allergic rhinitis, and to determine their cumulative effect in the disease development. In the present study, aforesaid parameters were estimated in 60 subjects (30-60 years), categorized into two groups: 30 healthy subjects served as healthy control and 30 chronic AR patients; and compared it statistically by using student’s t- test. Plasma TAA levels were significantly low (p< 0.001) in patient group as compared to healthy controls where as erythrocyte MDA levels were significantly high (p<0.05) in allergic rhinitis with respect to controls. Our findings indicate that alteration in plasma total antioxidant status along with oxidative stress (via MDA production) may be responsible for biomolecular deterioration and induces a variety of pathological changes that are highly relevant in nasal and airway mucosas leading to the etiopathogenesis of AR. Therefore, preventive approach against allergen along with incorporation of antioxidant rich diet to overcome the oxidant overload could be effective in reducing the incidence of allergic rhinitis.