Comparative studies on the effect of butylated hydroxyanisole on glutathione and glutathione S-transferases in the tissues of male and female CD-1 mice

1. Male CD-1 mice had about 1.6-fold higher glutathione (GSH), 2-fold higher glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and 2.8-fold higher GST protein in their livers as compared to the female mice.

2. When mice were fed a diet containing 0.75% BHA for 2 weeks, a 1.8-fold increase was observed in GSH levels of female mice liver as opposed to only 1.2-fold increase in male mice. BHA caused 10-fold increase in GST activity and protein in livers of female mice as compared to only about 3–4-fold increase in livers of males. Differential induction of GSH and GST in males and females was also observed in other tissue besides liver but was not as remarkable.

3. Sex-related differences were also observed in the induction of the α- and μ- and π-classes ofGSTs by BHA; most noticeable being GST π, which was induced to about 10-fold in female liver as opposed to only 3.4-fold in male liver.