Two nitrofuran compounds, nifurtimox and nitrofurantoin, inhibited in a concentration-dependent manner the NADPH-, iron-induced lipid peroxidation in rat liver microsomes, as shown by the decreased rate of MDA accumulation. Other nitro compounds (benznidazole and chloramphenicol) were relatively inactive. Nifurtimox inhibition affected polyenoic fatty acids and cytochrome P-450 degradation that follows lipid peroxidation. The ascorbate- or tert-butyl hydroperoxide-dependent lipid peroxidations were much less inhibited than the NADPH-dependent one. Nifurtimox and nitrofurantoin, but not benznidazole and chloramphenicol, strongly stimulated the microsomal NADPH-oxidase activity, thus supporting electron diversion, as the main cause of the inhibition of peroxidation initiation.
