The effects of ketoprofen and meloxicam on oxidative stress through the glutathione pathway after ketamine-xylazine anesthesia and ulcer induction in rats: A comparative study

Given that oxidative stress (OS) occurs as one of the complications of general anesthesia and surgical procedures, practicing the best and safest anesthesia regimen can have a significant share in various surgeries. So, this study compared the effects of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as ketoprofen (KTP) and meloxicam (MLX) on OS through the glutathione pathway after the ketamine-xylazine (K-X) anesthesia and ulcer induction in rats to suggest post-operative regimens with promising analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. 80 healthy adult male Wistar rats, were examined in this study. To obtain the baseline value cardiac blood collected of five rats, and the remaining 75 animals were randomized into three groups of 25, including (i) the control group receiving physiological serum, (ii) the experimental group 1 taking KTP, (iii) the experimental group 2, administered by MLX and all three groups received K-X combination IP after 30 min. Then, a full-thickness ulcer was induced under standard conditions, and the blood samples were collected from groups at T0, T30m, T60m, T24h, and T48h. The serum levels of the desired markers were measured. The study results revealed that the administration of K-X as an anesthetic agent made some changes in the markers of the OS-related glutathione (GSH) pathway. Moreover, KTP and MLX, significantly (