The effect of protoporphyrin (PP) administration on the activities of enzymes related to and/or involved in lipid peroxidation and on the content of reduced glutathione (GSH) was investigated in rat liver. PP, at an intravenous dose of 20 mg/kg, increased GSH content, caused a weak suppression of NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity and a slight increase of gamma-glutamyl transpeptidase activity 24 h after dosing, but had no effect on the activities of other enzymes such as xanthine oxidase, superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase, gamma-glutamylcysteine synthetase or glutathione synthetase. Treatment of rats with diethyl maleate following PP injection resulted in the disappearance of antioxidative action of PP. Furthermore, sinusoidal, but not canalicular, efflux of hepatic GSH was decreased by the PP treatment. The increase of liver GSH content by PP treatment due to the decrease of sinusoidal efflux of GSH from the liver, thus would be involved in the exertion of antioxidative action of PP.