Abstract
The protective effect of natural bees' honey to the liver of male albino rats against melamine toxicity was studied. Melamine supplementation at a dose of 20000 ppm in the diet for 28 days induced adverse effects on the liver, decreased serum total protein and increased liver enzyme: alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and alkaline phosphatase. Histological changes of the melamine supplemented group showed necrosis in the hepatic tissues around the central veins of the liver and precipitation of melamine crystals. Treating the male albino rats (that were presupplemented regularly with 20000 ppm melamine) with natural bees' honey at a dose of 2.5 g/kg body weight for 28 days improved both liver functions and increased serum protein. In addition, a positive impact on the shape of the cells after treatment with honey compared to the positive melamine supplemented group was observed. In conclusion, the results of this study revealed that the use of natural bees' honey has the ability to protect the liver of rats against the toxic effects of melamine.
Highlights
Melamine (2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine, 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6triamine, 2,4,6-triamino-s-triazine, melamine amide or cyanuric triamide) is a nitrogen heterocyclic triazine compound, referred to as triamines or protein essence [1]
Rats treated with melamine showed a significant decrease in hemoglobin, hematocrit, mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration, and red blood cells after 28 days compared to the control
These findings agree with other investigations that showed significant decline in the mean cell volume and mean cell hemoglobin values in rats exposed to pet food contaminated with melamine and cyanuric acid [9]
Summary
Melamine (2,4,6-triamino-1,3,5-triazine, 1,3,5-triazine-2,4,6triamine, 2,4,6-triamino-s-triazine, melamine amide or cyanuric triamide) is a nitrogen heterocyclic triazine compound, referred to as triamines or protein essence [1]. Melamine contains 66% nitrogen by mass, so it is sometimes illegally added to food products in order to increase the apparent protein content that has recently become a serious concern [1, 2]. Standard tests such as the Kjeldahl and Dumas tests estimate protein levels by measuring the nitrogen content, so they can be misled by adding nitrogen-rich compounds such as melamine [3]. The toxicity of melamine alone is very low, and greater than 90% of the ingested melamine is eliminated within 24 h in an animal experiment [6]. In spite of this lower toxicity of melamine, most animal studies showed effects on health following subacute or chronic melamine exposure [2, 6, 7]
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