Vitamins E and C attenuates liver injury induced by copper nanoparticle in Rats (Rattus norvegicus)

Abstract

Nanoparticles are widely used in many different fields, and production. However, the ingestion of nanoparticles from environmental pollution may have significant health impacts, which are currently poorly understood. In this study we aimed to investigate the cellular toxicity of copper nanoparticles on liver tissue of Rat, and also investigate the role of vitamin E and C, separately or together, in reducing the cellular damage that may be caused by copper nanoparticles. In this study 56 (5–6) weeks old rats with a weight of 120 ± 10 grams were divided into seven groups, treated with copper nanoparticles for four weeks, then treated with vitamins, either alone or together, for another four weeks where is control. Rats were treated with copper nanoparticles showed changes in the ultrastructure of the liver tissue, in which there was a clear decrease in the number of cellular organelles in hepatocytes. Which show small in their size, and had irregular nuclear envelopes, swelling of the mitochondria, shortening of their cristae and effects on their matrix, an increase in the size of lysosomes, an increase in the number of lipid droplets, and an expansion of the Disse spaces. The treatment with vitamins C or E or both, marked improvement was found in the size and number of organelles. The cells returned to almost their normal state. We concluded that vitamins C and E have a positive role in reducing the toxic effects of copper nanoparticles. We recommended their use in doses of 250 mg/kg/day.