SUMMARY
Objectives: It has been proved that cigarette smoke contains high concentrations of various compounds (oxidants and free radicals) involved in the initiation and promotion of oxidative damage, which leads to various degenerative pulmonary, cardiovascular diseases and cancer. We tried to assess the generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) at the level of laryngeal tissues of rats exposed to cigarette smoke (CS), and to evaluate the possible protective effects of a combination of selenium and vitamin E.Methods: Animals were divided into three groups, each group containing 10 male white Wistar rats. Animals from the first group were exposed to cigarette smoke. The second group, besides cigarette smoke exposure, received daily doses of a combination of selenium and vitamin E. The third group was used as control. Rats were killed, and ROS levels in laryngeal tissues were assessed by chemiluminescence measurements.Results: We found a statistically significant difference between ROS levels in the first group compared to controls: ROS levels were higher in the first group. The second group presented significantly decreased ROS levels as compared with the first group.Conclusions: The administration of a combination of selenium and vitamin E decreases ROS levels induced by cigarette smoke exposure in laryngeal tissues.