Abstract
Cadmium (Cd) is a highly toxic environmental and industrial cumulative pollutant that affects many organs, especially the liver. The present study was designed to evaluate the antioxidant effect of green tea on cadmium-induced hepatic dysfunction and oxidative stress in rats. Adult male Wistar rats were administered cadmium by injection of 20 micromoles/kg bw/every 3 days for six months. This study revealed significant (p < 0.05) liver dysfunction, lipid peroxidation and a decline in antioxidant enzyme activities in the liver of cadmium-treated rats compared to control animals. Compared to control rats, the activities of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), gammaglutamyl transferase (GGT), acid phosphatase (PAC), phosphatase alkaline (PAL), as well as bilirubin and thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARs), were significantly (p < 0.05) increased in Cd-treated rats. Moreover, antioxidant enzyme activities, such as superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPX) and catalase, were significantly (p < 0.05) decreased in the liver of cadmium-treated rats. The oral administration of 5% aqueous green tea extract, along with cadmium treatment for six months, caused a significant (p < 0.05) improvement in cadmium-induced toxicity by significantly decreasing (p < 0.05) the activities of enzymatic markers of liver dysfunction (LDH, GGT, PAC, PAL activities, as well as the bilirubin rate). Indeed, green tea extract significantly increased (p < 0.05) antioxidant enzymatic activities (SOD, Catalase, GPX) in rat liver, compared to those given cadmium alone. Thus, the oral administration of green tea, along with cadmium significantly (p < 0.05) improves cadmium-induced liver dysfunction and stress oxidant in rats' liver.
Highlights
Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal with great environmental health effects and all Cd compounds have been classified as human carcinogens (Newairy et al, 2007)
Various studies have shown that cadmium toxicity in liver seems to be crucially mediated by the production of reactive oxygen species known to induce necrosis in various rat organs (Razinger et al, 2008; Hsu et al, 2007), lipid peroxidation (Borges et al, 2008) and a decrease in ABREVIATIONS: LDH, lactate dehydrogenase; GGT, gammaglutamyl transferase; PAC, acid phosphatase; PAL, phosphatase alkaline; thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances; superoxide dismutase (SOD), superoxide dimutase; GPX, glutathione peroxidase
The TBARs concentration in the liver of rats that received Cd and green tea at the same time was lower by 44%
Summary
Cadmium (Cd) is a heavy metal with great environmental health effects and all Cd compounds have been classified as human carcinogens (Newairy et al, 2007). Polyphenolics, commonly found in fruits, vegetables and grains, provide chemoprotective effects to combat oxidative stress in the body and to maintain balance between oxidants and antioxidants in order to improve human health (Hsu, 2006). The predominant flavonoids in green tea are catechins, namely epicatechin (EC), epicatechin-3-gallate (ECG), epigallocatechin (EGC), and epigallocatechin-3- gallate (EGCG) (Feng, 2006). The present study was designed to assess the protective effect of green tea (GT). The present paper was carried out to study the effect of green tea infusion on hepatic toxicity assessed by lipid peroxidation, enzymatic antioxidants and cell damage biomarkers in rat livers intoxicated by cadmium
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