Jordan Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Volume 2, No. 1, 2009 - 22 - Effect of Mercuric Chloride on Glutathione (GSH) level in Plasma and Cytosolic Fraction of Human blood M.Farid Khan 1 , Haroon Khan 1 , Hashmatullah Khan 1 , Rehan Z.Paracha 1 and Gul Majid Khan 2 1 Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gomal University, D.I.Khan, Pakistan. 2 Drug Delivery Research Group, Department of Pharmaceutics, Faculty of Pharmacy, Gomal University, D. I .Khan. Pakistan. ABSTRACT Elemental Mercury is the main ingredient in dental amalgams and in plasma-derived medicinal products and in other many medicines, but mercury is a neurotoxin and can harm human health if exposed. Thus, it is interesting to study the effect of mercurric chloride on the glutathione (GSH). The effect of mercuric chloride on the chemical status of the glutathione (GSH) in the whole blood has been studied using U.V Spectrophotometer by using Ellman’s method. The effect of mercurric chloride on the chemical status of glutathione (GSH) was checked in whole blood with the passage of time. It was found that there is a profound effect of decreasing the concentration of reduced glutathione (GSH) in whole blood, as the time has passed. The decrease in the glutathione level was dependent on concentration and time of interaction dependent, probably, due to oxidation of glutathione (GSH) to corresponding disulphide (GSSG). In this paper, the effect of mercuric chloride on thiol/GSH level was discussed in vitro, which in principal may present a model of in vivo reaction. This study can also help in a way to achieve the idea that the acute toxicity of the metal can be neutralized by the reduced glutathione (GSH). Keywords: Mercury (Hg), Reduced Glutathione (GSH), Oxidize Glutathione (GSSG), Whole blood, Ellman’s Method, 5, 5-Dithiobis, 2-Nitrobenzoic Acid (DTNB). INTRODUCTION Glutathione (g-glutamylcysteinylglycine, GSH) is a sulfhydryl (-SH) antioxidant, antitoxin, and enzyme cofactor. Glutathione is found in animals, plants, and microorganisms, and, being water-soluble, it is found mainly in the cell cytosol and other aqueous phases of the living system. (1, 2, 3) Great interest has been placed recently on glutathione, (GSH) the major nonprotien thiol (NPSH) in cell (3,4) , due to its varied biochemical, physiological and pharmacological activities that include; drug metabolism, cellular protection against electrophilic attack of chemical and/or its metabolites (5) . Glutathione (GSH) is known to participate critically in various detoxification reaction including the deactivation of electrophilic drugs and carcinogenic metabolites by formation of GSG-S conjugates (4,6,7,8) . Glutathione is present inside cells mainly in its reduced (GSH) form. In the healthy cell GSSG, the oxidized (electron-poor) form rarely exceeds 10 percent of the total cell glutathione (GSH). Intracellular GSH status appears to be a sensitive indicator of the cell's overall health, and of its ability to Received on 23/3/2008 and Accepted for Publication on 24/7/2008. E-mail: haroon_shcolar@yahoo.com © 2009 DAR Publishers/University of Jordan. All Rights Reserved.