GENERAL ANTIOXIDANT SYSTEM OF RAT LIVER MITOCHONDRIA IN A MODEL OF DEPRESSION AND CAFFEINE USE

Depression as a neurological disease is accompanied by the formation of metabolites that cause body toxicity. Among these, reactive oxygen species are significant, capable of damaging any body molecules (Barcelos et al., 2014; Anh-Dao et al., 2022). The main organ of detoxification is the liver, which, under the conditions of disease development and therapy, undergoes additional load. Mitochondria, as the main suppliers of energy, in conditions of increased concentration of oxidative products, undergo changes that lead to an imbalance in cells. The search for drugs that can simultaneously correct pathological conditions and exhibit hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties is an urgent task of experimental and medical biochemistry. To determine the state of the general antioxidant system of the liver mitochondria of rats under the conditions of depression and to correct this pathological state with caffeine. The experiment was carried out on white, sexually mature Wistar rats, which were kept by the rules for vertebrate animals used for experimental purposes. The animals were divided into two experimental groups: males and females, each divided into four experimental groups of five animals. The state of the antioxidant system was determined by changes in the concentration of MDA and modified proteins, SOD and CT activity, and total antioxidant activity using colorimetry and spectrometry methods. The obtained results were subjected to statistical processing with Excel Microsoft 365. Activation of oxidative processes was observed in animals with depression, including in liver mitochondria. In the group of animals treated with caffeine at a concentration of 25 mg/kg for 5 weeks, a decrease in MDA concentration by almost 40% was observed compared to the group of depressed animals. A decrease in the concentration of oxidatively modified proteins was established both under the influence of caffeine in the control group of rats and in the depressed group that was administered caffeine. Determination of the total antioxidant activity of liver mitochondria during depression showed a halving of this parameter and indicates inhibition of protective mechanisms. Under the conditions of caffeine use, the activity of KT and SOD, as one of the components of the antioxidant system, was restored within the control group. The obtained results indicate the antioxidant properties of caffeine, which had a positive effect on the overall antioxidant activity of liver mitochondria against the background of depression. Keywords: depression, caffeine, antioxidant system, MDA, oxidatively modified proteins, CT, SOD.