Abstract
The present work studied the effect of grapefruit juice (Citrus) on the hepatotoxicity of AlCl3. Four groups of adult male albino rats were used. Group I contained 10 rats and remained as a control group; Group II: 10 rats were included and orally administered with grapefruit juice at a dose level of 27 ml/kg of body weight per day for 6 weeks; Group III: 10 rats were included and AlCl3 was administered orally at a dose level of 100 mg/kg of body weight per day for 6 weeks; Group IV: animals of this group (10 rats) were given a combination of AlCl3 and grapefruit juice per day for 6 weeks. At the end of the sixth week, the liver was processed for histological and ultrastructure studies. In addition, ALT and AST were determined in blood sera. The results showed that AlCl3 induced several histological alterations in the liver, including congestion of blood vessels, leucocytic infiltration, cytoplasmic vacuolation of hepatocytes and fatty infiltrations. Ultrastructural changes include the degeneration of mitochondria, RER swelling and pyknosis of the nuclei with an increase in fat droplets and lysosomes. The biochemical results showed an increase in ALT and AST activities in the AlCl3 group. However, the group of rats treated with AlCl3 and grapefruit juice improved the histological and ultrastructural changes, while the levels of ALT and AST were reduced. It was concluded in the results that grapefruit juice has a protective effect against hepatotoxicity of AlCl3 that can be attributed to the antioxidant properties of its components.
Highlights
Humans are exposed to toxic metals through water, polluted air, food, and soil
Animals treated with AlCl3 for 6 weeks showed a significant decrease in body weight compared to the control group (Figure 1)
The rats that received AlCl3 and grapefruit showed a significant increase in the body weight of the rats compared to the AlCl3 group
Summary
Humans are exposed to toxic metals through water, polluted air, food, and soil. Aluminum (AL) is the third most common element in the earth’s crust and is omnipresent in the environment [1]. Aluminum is a component of cooking utensils, medicines such as antacids, deodorants, perspirants, food additives, packaging foil, drying agent (for example, Sodium aluminosilicate—a fine powder), used to dry cocoa, salt and other products, a flocculant agent in the most municipal water supply [2]. It can be found in foods, especially corn, yellow cheese, salt, herbs, spices and tea [3]. The signs and symptoms of Al toxicity include: neurodegenerative diseases [4], hematological abnormalities [5] and liver damage [6]. It caused oxidative stress and an increase in lipid peroxidation [7]
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