RESUMEN
Fascioliasis, which is caused by infection with Fasciola gigantica and Fasciola hepatica, is a zoonotic disease with a global distribution. This comparative study aimed to investigate antioxidant enzyme activities and oxidative status of chronic fascioliasis patients. In this study, 20 patients were compared with 10 controls and the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD), malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), catalase (CAT), alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) enzymes were evaluated. The results showed that MDA, CAT, AST, and ALT levels were higher in patients than in controls, while SOD and GPX levels were higher in controls than in patients (P≤0.05). Moreover, the enzyme MDA showed a positive correlation with SOD and GPX in the infected group. The enzyme SOD had an indirect correlation with CAT and a direct correlation with GPX. The positive correlation between ALT and AST was shown to be extremely significant (P≤0.05). The significant decrease in antioxidant enzymes and an increase in serum lipid peroxidation in the red blood cells of patients with fascioliasis indicated the presence of oxidative stress, which showed inflammation and oxidative stress, the pathogenesis of which was indicative of the stage of infection.