El-Terras Adel, Soliman Mohamed Mohamed, Alkhedaide Adel, Attia Hossam Fouad, Alharthy Abdullah, Banaja Abdel Elah
Al‑Saedan Research Chair for Genetic Behavioral Disorders, Taif University, Taif, Mecca 21421, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Medical Laboratory Department, Faculty of Applied Medical Sciences, Taif University, Turabah, Mecca 21411, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
Mol Med Rep. 2016 Apr;13(4):3147-54. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2016.4903. Epub 2016 Feb 18.
In Saudi Arabia, the consumption of carbonated soft drinks is common and often occurs with each meal. Carbonated soft drink consumption has been shown to exhibit effects on the liver, kidney and bone. However, the effects of these soft drinks on brain activity have not been widely examined, particularly at the gene level. Therefore, the current study was conducted with the aim of evaluating the effects of chronic carbonated soft drink consumption on oxidative stress, brain gene biomarkers associated with aggression and brain histology. In total, 40 male Wistar rats were divided into four groups: Group 1 served as a control and was provided access to food and water ad libitum; and groups 2‑4 were given free access to food and carbonated soft drinks only (Cola for group 2, Pepsi for group 3 and 7‑UP for group 4). Animals were maintained on these diets for 3 consecutive months. Upon completion of the experimental period, animals were sacrificed and serological and histopathological analyses were performed on blood and tissues samples. Reverse transcription‑polymerase chain reaction was used to analyze alterations in gene expression levels. Results revealed that carbonated soft drinks increased the serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA). Carbonated soft drinks were also observed to downregulate the expression of antioxidants glutathione reductase (GR), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) in the brain when compared with that in the control rats. Rats administered carbonated soft drinks also exhibited decreased monoamine oxidase A (MAO‑A) and acetylcholine esterase (AChE) serum and mRNA levels in the brain. In addition, soft drink consumption upregulated mRNA expression of dopamine D2 receptor (DD2R), while 5-hydroxytryptamine transporter (5‑HTT) expression was decreased. However, following histological examination, all rats had a normal brain structure. The results of this study demonstrated that that carbonated soft drinks induced oxidative stress and altered the expression of certain genes that are associated with the brain activity and thus should be consumed with caution.
在沙特阿拉伯，碳酸软饮料的消费很普遍，每餐通常都会饮用。已证明饮用碳酸软饮料会对肝脏、肾脏和骨骼产生影响。然而，这些软饮料对大脑活动的影响尚未得到广泛研究，尤其是在基因层面。因此，进行本研究的目的是评估长期饮用碳酸软饮料对氧化应激、与攻击性相关的脑基因生物标志物以及脑组织学的影响。总共40只雄性Wistar大鼠被分为四组：第1组作为对照组，可随意获取食物和水；第2 - 4组仅可自由获取食物和碳酸软饮料（第2组为可乐，第3组为百事可乐，第4组为七喜）。动物连续3个月保持这些饮食。实验期结束后，处死动物并对血液和组织样本进行血清学和组织病理学分析。采用逆转录 - 聚合酶链反应分析基因表达水平的变化。结果显示，碳酸软饮料会增加血清丙二醛（MDA）水平。与对照大鼠相比，还观察到碳酸软饮料会下调大脑中抗氧化剂谷胱甘肽还原酶（GR）、过氧化氢酶和谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶（GPx）的表达。饮用碳酸软饮料的大鼠大脑中的单胺氧化酶A（MAO - A）和乙酰胆碱酯酶（AChE）血清及mRNA水平也降低。此外，饮用软饮料会上调多巴胺D2受体（DD2R）的mRNA表达，而5 - 羟色胺转运体（5 - HTT）的表达则降低。然而，组织学检查后发现，所有大鼠的大脑结构均正常。本研究结果表明，碳酸软饮料会诱导氧化应激并改变某些与大脑活动相关的基因表达，因此应谨慎饮用。
