Mabrouk Aymen
Laboratory of Histology and Cytogenetic (Research Unit of Genetic, Genotoxicity and Childhood Illness UR12ES10), Faculty of Medicine, University of Monastir , Street Avicenna, Monastir 5019 , Tunisia.
Acta Biol Hung. 2017 Sep;68(3):248-254. doi: 10.1556/018.68.2017.3.2.
Alteration of the antioxidant system may be related to lead (Pb) hepatotoxicity. This study was carried out to investigate the possible beneficial effect of thymoquinone (TQ), the major active ingredient of volatile oil of Nigella sativa seeds, against Pb-induced liver antioxidant defense system impairment. Adult male rats were randomized into four groups: control group received no treatment, Pb group was exposed to 2000 ppm of Pb acetate in drinking water, Pb-TQ group was cotreated with Pb plus TQ (5 mg/kg/day, per os) and TQ group receiving only TQ. All treatments were applied for five weeks. TQ alone did not induce any significant changes in the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant status. By contrast, Pb exposure significantly decreased not only reduced glutathione level, but also superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, catalase and glutathione reductase activities in the liver tissue. Interestingly, when coadministrated with Pb, TQ significantly improved the affected antioxidant parameters. In conclusion, our results indicate a protective effect of TQ against Pb-induced liver antioxidant capacity impairment and suggest that this component might be a clinically promising alternative in Pb hepatotoxicity.
抗氧化系统的改变可能与铅（Pb）肝毒性有关。本研究旨在探讨黑种草籽挥发油的主要活性成分百里醌（TQ）对铅诱导的肝脏抗氧化防御系统损伤可能产生的有益作用。成年雄性大鼠被随机分为四组：对照组不接受任何处理，铅组饮用含2000 ppm醋酸铅的水，铅 - TQ组同时接受铅和TQ（5 mg/kg/天，口服）处理，TQ组仅接受TQ处理。所有处理均持续五周。单独使用TQ并未引起酶促和非酶促抗氧化状态的任何显著变化。相比之下，铅暴露不仅显著降低了肝脏组织中还原型谷胱甘肽水平，还降低了超氧化物歧化酶、谷胱甘肽过氧化物酶、过氧化氢酶和谷胱甘肽还原酶的活性。有趣的是，当与铅共同给药时，TQ显著改善了受影响的抗氧化参数。总之，我们的结果表明TQ对铅诱导的肝脏抗氧化能力损伤具有保护作用，并表明该成分可能是铅肝毒性临床应用中一种有前景的替代物。
