The lack of protective effects of tea supplementation on liver and jejunal epithelium in adult rats exposed to cadmium and lead.

Adult rats at the age of 12 weeks were divided into the control group and groups supplemented with green (GT), black (BT), red (RT), or white (WT) tea extracts. The diet (except that for the control) was mixed with 7 mg Cd/kg and 50 mg Pb/kg. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. Basal haematology and plasma biochemical parameters as well as the histomorphometrical parameters of jejunal epithelium and liver were determined. The lowest body mass was found in the RT and WT groups. Some functional (increased plasma ALT and AST, and the de Ritis coefficient) and structural changes in the liver (slight fatty degenerative changes, an increase in the intercellular space) were evident irrespective of the type of tea in the Cd and Pb poisoned rats. This toxic effect was visible especially in rats drinking black or red tea. However, the rats had no elevated LDH and ALT activities. The highest content of Cd and Pb in the liver and blood plasma was found in rats drinking red tea. Based on the results obtained, it is clear that long-term exposure of adult rats with a mature intestinal barrier to Cd and Pb contamination, under higher exposure conditions than the current estimates of weekly exposure of the general population to Cd and Pb through diet, causes a toxic effect, especially in the liver, and can change the structure of intestinal mucosa, irrespective of tea administration.