Division of Environmental Health, Gulhane Military Medical Academy, Ankara, Turkey.
Environ Toxicol Pharmacol. 2005 Jul;20(1):161-6. doi: 10.1016/j.etap.2004.12.051.
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of high dose nitrate ingested in drinking water, on liver enzymes and histopathology, liver weight/body weight (lw/bw) ratio, serum and liver malondialdehyde (MDA) levels and osmotic fragility in Sprague-Dawley rats. These parameters were compared on 40 rats divided into four groups; control animals (group A) drank filtered tap water containing maximum 10mg/L nitrate while treatment groups drank 200mg/L (group B), 400mg/L (group C) and α-tocopherol plus 400mg/L (group D) nitrate containing water ad libitum for 60 days. As a result, lw/bw ratio increased significantly (p<0.05) among rats that consumed water with 400mg/L nitrate. Osmotic fragility increased significantly in treatment groups (p<0.05 versus control). Liver but not serum MDA levels increased in group C (p<0.05 versus control). Group A showed normal hepatic lobular architecture and histology. After nitrate administration, there was hepatocellular degeneration with increased intercellular space of the liver cells in groups B and C. Liver MDA, osmotic fragility and liver histology have returned to nearly normal in group D. These findings show clearly that high nitrate ingestion can cause pathological changes in liver histology and functions. Moreover, α-tocopherol can prevent these effects, possibly through antioxidant properties.
本研究旨在确定饮用水中高剂量硝酸盐对 Sprague-Dawley 大鼠的肝酶和组织病理学、肝重/体重（lw/bw）比、血清和肝丙二醛（MDA）水平以及渗透脆性的影响。将 40 只大鼠分为四组，比较这些参数：对照组（A 组）饮用含最大 10mg/L 硝酸盐的过滤自来水，而处理组则自由饮用 200mg/L（B 组）、400mg/L（C 组）和α-生育酚加 400mg/L（D 组）的硝酸盐水 60 天。结果，摄入 400mg/L 硝酸盐水的大鼠 lw/bw 比值显著升高（p<0.05）。处理组的渗透脆性显著增加（p<0.05 与对照组相比）。C 组肝但不血清 MDA 水平升高（p<0.05 与对照组相比）。A 组显示正常的肝小叶结构和组织学。给予硝酸盐后，B 组和 C 组肝细胞间空间增大，出现肝细胞变性。D 组肝 MDA、渗透脆性和肝组织学已恢复正常。这些发现清楚地表明，高硝酸盐摄入可导致肝组织学和功能发生病理变化。此外，α-生育酚可能通过抗氧化特性预防这些作用。
