Comparative assessment of redox-sensitive biomarkers due to acacia honey and sodium arsenite administration in vivo

Abstract

Apart from their nutritional properties, foods are basically health promoting or disease preventing. Typical example of such type of foods is honey. Sodium arsenite has been implicated in covalent interactions with the thiol groups in proteins, thereby affecting their structure–function relationship. This study was undertaken to investigate on the comparative assessment of redox-sensitive biomarkers from brain, blood serum and liver tissues as well as genotoxic effects in bone marrow cells of male Wister albino rats due to acacia honey and sodium arsenite administration in vivo. Male Wister albino in four groups of five rats, each were administered with distilled water, acacia honey (20 %), sodium arsenite (5 mg/kg body weight), acacia honey and sodium arsenite daily for 1 week. They were killed using 60 mg/kg sodium pentothal. Blood serum, brain and liver tissues were used for the assessment of GSH level, catalase, SOD activities, protein content and lipid peroxidation. The degree of clastogenicity was assessed using the mouse micronucleus assay in bone marrow cells. Sodium arsenite significantly (p < 0.05) suppresses the GSH level, SOD and catalase activities with simultaneous induction of lipid peroxidation (MDA) and clastogenic effects. Acacia honey was able to increased (p < 0.05) GSH level SOD and catalase activities with concomitant anti-clastogenic effects due to reduction in micronuclei. Acacia honey mitigates sodium arsenite induced-oxidative stress and clastogenicity in male Wister albino rats with its antioxidant properties more pronounced in liver tissues.