ABSTRACT Purpose:

To evaluate if the perconditioning affects the antioxidant capacity in mesenteric ischemia and reperfusion injury.

Methods:

Twenty-one Wistar rats were assigned into three groups, as follows: Sham, IR and rPER. The animals were subjected to mesenteric ischemia for 30 min. rPER consisted of three cycles of 5-min hindlimb ischemia followed by 5 min hindlimb perfusion at the same time to mesenteric ischemic period. After 5 minutes, blood and 5 cm of terminal ileum were harvested for thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) and Trolox equivalent antioxidant capacity (TEAC) measurement.

Results:

rPER technique was able to reduce intestinal tissue TBARS levels (p<0.0001), but no statistic difference was observed in blood levels between groups, although it was verified similar results in rPER and Sham group. rPER technique also enhanced TEAC levels in both blood (p = 0.0314) and intestinal tissue (p = 0.0139), compared to IR group.

Conclusions:

rPER appears as the most promising technique to avoid IR injury. This technique reduced TBARS levels in blood and intestinal tissue and promoted the maintenance of antioxidant defense in mesenteric acute injury.