Chronic trifluoperazine treatment does not induce lipid peroxidation in the rat cortex.

Rats received continuous chronic trifluoperazine hydrochloride (4.4-4.9 mg/kg/day) treatment for 15 months via their drinking water. Drug treatment did not alter the content of polyunsaturated fatty acids in the cerebral cortex when compared to age-matched control animals. Similarly, there was no change in basal levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) when measured by a fluorimetric or spectrophotometric technique. Incubation of cortical homogenates in air, or with FeSO4 plus ascorbic acid or H2O2 plus FeSO4, stimulated MDA production to the same extent in tissue from drug-treated and control animals. The chronic administration of trifluoperazine to rats does not appear to promote lipid peroxidation as has been suggested for haloperidol.