Protective Effect of Wheat and Barley Grass Against the Acute Toxicological Effects of the Concurrent Administration of Excessive Heavy Metals in Drinking Water on the Rats Liver and Brain

Hanan S.E Eldamaty,Diaa Abd El Moneim,Amina Zedan,Lamiaa M Abd El-Maoula,Heba Elbasiouny,Amira M Elmoslemany,Medhat Rehan,Ola Ibrahim El-Desoky

doi:10.3390/app11115059

Hanan S.E Eldamaty, Diaa Abd El Moneim + Show 6 more

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https://doi.org/10.3390/app11115059

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Abstract

Heavy metal contaminated water is a great concern because of its high toxiciy, non-biodegradability, and bioaccumulation. Therefore, non-contaminated water is fundamental for a healthy life. Special attention is paid to the health-promoting ingredients of germinated whole cereal products. This study aimed to (1) examine the potentially harmful effects of Cu, Mn, and Zn on rat livers and brains, and (2) the potentially protective action of wheat and barley grasses against the expected harmful effects of these metals. The rats were treated with water contaminated by heavy metals (HMs) and germinated wheat and barley for 60 days. The rat liver functions and histopathological examinations were analyzed. Comet assay was evaluated to assess the damage in the DNA of rat livers and brains. The results indicated a significant alteration in liver functions in rats exposed to HMs; however, wheat and barley grasses at high doses decreased the harmful effects. An insignificant difference was noticed in total protein, albumin, and globulin of rats treated with HMs compared with the control. A significant increase in the serum and liver levels of HMs was recorded; however, they were reduced by wheat and barley grasses. Rat livers treated with HMs exhibited severe histological effects. The groups treated with wheat and barley grasses showed a normal liver architecture. A significant increase in DNA damage in the livers and brains was observed in rats treated with HMs, which was reduced when treated with wheat and barley grasses. Thus, using germinated seeds is promising to avoid damaging of HMs.

Highlights

It is well-recognized that clean and high-quality water is certainly fundamental for the health of all livings
The DNA content was elevated in rats subjected to mixed heavy metals (HMs), while it was reduced up to 50% with the barley grass treatment (500 mg kg−1 ; Table 9). These results indicate a genotoxic effect of mixed HMs in the comet assay of exposed rat livers, which offers a sensitive tool to estimate the DNA damage and repair in the genetic toxicology and environmental biomonitoring field [91]
Rats administrated with toxic levels of Cu, Mn, and Zn exhibited harmful effects in the liver and brain biomarkers

Summary

Introduction

It is well-recognized that clean and high-quality water is certainly fundamental for the health of all livings. It has been globally observed that millions of people are divested of this, and approximately 80% of all human diseases in developing nations are correlated to contaminated water, which leads to an increased number of deaths worldwide. This can lead to more than 14,000 deaths daily [1]. Chronic diseases such as liver cirrhosis occur because of the contamination of drinking water by heavy metals (HMs) such as Cu, Cd, Ni, Cr, and Pb [2]. Heavy metals can be released into the environment either naturally or anthropogenically [1,3,4,5,6,7]

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