Aim. To determine the peculiarities of enzymatic and glutathione link of antioxidant protection of the liver of rats of different age in case of experimental cranioskeletal injury.

Materials and methods. Cranioskeletal trauma (CST) was modelled in rats of three age groups (sexually immature, sexually mature, old) under thiopental sodium anesthesia. Rats were removed from the experiment under anesthesia after 3 and 7 days of the post-traumatic period. Superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, as well as glutathione peroxidase (GP) and glutathione reductase (GR) activity and the content of reduced glutathione were determined in the liver homogenate extract.

Results. It was identified that, regardless of age, under the influence of CST, after 3 and 7 days of the post-traumatic period, in the liver of experimental rats, indicated parameters of enzymatic and glutathione link of antioxidant protection significantly decrease. However, the degree of decrease of the studied indicators is significantly greater in old rats, in particular after 7 days: according to catalase activity – on 30.8 % compared to sexually immature rats and on 27.0 % compared to sexually mature rats; according to glutathione peroxidase activity – on 31.6 % compared to sexually immature rats and on 23.5 % compared to sexually mature rats; according to glutathione reductase activity – on 22.0 % compared to sexually mature rats. The obtained results indicate a systemic pro-oxidant effect of the modelled injury on organs which are distant from the site of direct injury, as well as a decrease in the antioxidant capacity of the liver of rats with increasing age.

Conclusions. Under the influence of CST, the activity of the enzyme and glutathione link of antioxidant protection of the liver gradually decreases after 3 and 7 days in experimental rats, regardless of age. Under the conditions of CST modeling, the antioxidant capacity of the liver of old rats is lower than that of sexually mature and immature rats.