Effect of spinach-derived glutathione against carbon tetrachloride-induced stress in rats

 Background: Increased consumption of natural antioxidants found in vegetables and fruits has been linked to a lower risk of disease caused by oxidative stress.Objective: The current study's focus was to compare the antioxidant properties of synthetic glutathione and glutathione derived from spinach against CCl4-induced stress in female albino rats. Materials and Methods: Cold chloroform extraction was used to prepare the spinach leaf extract. Glutathione was then extracted from the spinach leaf extract using preparative HPLC afterward when the concentration of glutathione was measured in the extract. Biological preventive and therapeutic experiments were conducted, where laboratory rats were divided into 6 groups, the first group G1 (positive control group), the second group G2 (negative control group), the third group G3 preventive experiment 1 (group glutathione extracted from spinach + CCl4), the fourth group G4 therapeutic experiment 1 (Group CCl4+ Glutathione extracted from spinach), the fifth group G5 Preventive experiment 2 (Group of synthetic glutathione + CCl4), the sixth group G6 therapeutic experiment 2 (Group CCl4+ Glutathione extracted from spinach). Results: Treatment of rats with spinach-derived synthetic glutathione, before or after they were given CCl4 subcutaneous, improved the values of parameters near to normal levels in the positive control animals in groups treated with spinach-derived glutathione (G3 and G4) compared to treatment with synthetic glutathione (G5 and G6). Administration of milk with glutathione derived from Iraqi spinach leaves exhibited favorable effects on oxidative stress, greatly enhanced the antioxidant system, and protected rats from liver damage brought on by carbon tetrachloride compared to milk with synthetic glutathione. Keywords: Iraqi spinach, Functional food, Natural antioxidant, Oxidative stress, synthetic glutathione.