Abstract
Background: Paraquat (PQ), an herbicide, is a very poisonous compound for both humans and animals. This study was conducted to examine the protective effect of the Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in newborn rats from pregnant rats pre-treated with PQ. Methods: The experiments were conducted on 25 rats, divided in five groups randomly and equally: 1. Control Group received normal saline (0.1 ml/day); 2. PQ Group received PQ only (5 mg/kg/day); 3. PQ+CoQ10 Group received PQ (5 mg/kg) and CoQ10 (10 mg/kg) daily; 4. PQ+olive oil Group received PQ (5 mg/kg) and olive oil (10 mg/kg) daily; 5. Olive oil Group received olive oil (10 mg/kg/day). All of the injections were made intraperitoneally and started on the 16th day of pregnancy through to parturition. Sixteen days after parturition, the lungs were removed from the newborn rats, paraffin sections were made and stained with hematoxylin and eosin, and analyzed histomorphometrically and stereologically. Results: The results revealed that interstitial tissue and lung alveoli had normal structures in the control and olive oil groups. In PQ and PQ-olive oil groups alveolar hemorrhage, inflammation, extensive fibrosis, decreased alveolar numbers, increased mast cells, and changes in the epithelia were observed. In PQ-CoQ10 Group there was a significant recovery in all of the histological alterations. Conclusion: Generally, Coenzyme Q10 had a protective effect against lung damages caused by PQ, but a complete recovery of the damaged lung tissue would probably take longer than 16 days after birth.
Highlights
P raquat (PQ; 1, 1’-dimethyl-4, 4′-bipyridinium chloride) is widely used as an herbicide; it is highly poisonous to both humans and animals [1]
The present study demonstrated that the antioxidant effect of Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) had a significant protective effect in rats poisoned with PQ and protected the lungs from damage [32]
It can be concluded that PQ is able to pass from the placenta to the embryo through the blood in pregnant rats, affecting the lungs histogenesis in the newborns
Summary
P raquat (PQ; 1, 1’-dimethyl-4, 4′-bipyridinium chloride) is widely used as an herbicide; it is highly poisonous to both humans and animals [1]. It is known as a dangerous pollutant to the environment because it can bind the soil and organic materials, which takes a long time to be decomposed [2]. Some studies have revealed that when the parents were exposed to herbicides, such as PQ, their offspring might suffer Parkinson’s disease and leukemia [5, 7] These studies suggest that PQ can damage the cell membranes through the induction of multisystem toxicity [4, 8]. This study was conducted to examine the protective effect of the Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) in newborn rats from pregnant rats pre-treated with PQ
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