Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan, 60800, Pakistan.
King Edward Medical University, Lahore, 54000, Pakistan.
Biol Trace Elem Res. 2022 Feb;200(2):689-698. doi: 10.1007/s12011-021-02679-1. Epub 2021 Mar 20.
Elevated arsenic (As) contamination in drinking water was detected in many areas of Pakistan. The intoxication of As causes various neurological diseases in humans, which can be inhibited by the administration of potent antioxidants. Trace elements are also found in drinking water such as selenium (Se), which possess antioxidant potential. The main purpose of the current study is to find out the protective effect of Se against As toxicity which can cause anxiety- and depression-like behaviors as well as memory impairment. Thirty-six male rats were divided into six groups: (1) distilled water (dw)+dw, (2) dw+Se (0.175 mg/ml/kg), (3) dw+Se (0.35mg/ml/kg), (4) dw+As (2.5mg/ml/kg), (5) As (2.5mg/ml/kg) + Se (0.175 mg/ml/kg), and (6) As (2.5mg/ml/kg) + Se (0.35 mg/ml/kg). Rats were treated with respective treatment for 4 weeks. Sub-chronic treatment of As reduced time spent in open arm (elevated plus maze), and lightbox (light-dark activity test) and increased immobility time in forced swim test indicate anxiety- and/or depression-like behavior, respectively. Conversely, rats treated with As+Se (at both doses) increased time spent in open arm (elevated plus maze), and lightbox (light-dark activity test) and decreased immobility time in forced swim test indicate the anxiolytic and anti-depressive effect of Se, respectively. Co-administration of Se (0.175 and 0.35) inhibited As instigated reduction of spatial memory performed in Morris water maze. The reversal in the reduced level of malondialdehyde and activity of acetylcholinesterase in the hippocampus by Se was observed in As-treated animals, while the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the hippocampus was increased in As+Se than dw+As-treated animals. Histopathological studies have shown the reversal of hippocampus deterioration by Se in As-treated rats. The results may imply to prevent the intoxication of As instigated impairment in behavioral and biochemical indices by Se supplementation and/or increased safer intake.
巴基斯坦许多地区的饮用水中都检测到砷（As）污染水平升高。砷中毒会导致人类出现各种神经疾病，而强有力的抗氧化剂可以抑制砷中毒。饮用水中还存在一些微量元素，如硒（Se），具有抗氧化潜力。本研究的主要目的是确定硒对砷毒性的保护作用，因为砷毒性会导致焦虑和抑郁样行为以及记忆障碍。将 36 只雄性大鼠分为 6 组：（1）蒸馏水（dw）+dw，（2）dw+Se（0.175mg/ml/kg），（3）dw+Se（0.35mg/ml/kg），（4）dw+As（2.5mg/ml/kg），（5）As（2.5mg/ml/kg）+Se（0.175mg/ml/kg），和（6）As（2.5mg/ml/kg）+Se（0.35mg/ml/kg）。大鼠分别接受相应的处理 4 周。亚慢性砷处理减少了开阔臂（高架十字迷宫）和亮盒（明暗活动测试）中的停留时间，强迫游泳试验中的不动时间增加，分别表明焦虑和/或抑郁样行为。相反，用 As+Se（两种剂量）处理的大鼠增加了开阔臂（高架十字迷宫）和亮盒（明暗活动测试）中的停留时间，减少了强迫游泳试验中的不动时间，表明 Se 具有抗焦虑和抗抑郁作用。Se（0.175 和 0.35）的共同给药抑制了由 As 引起的 Morris 水迷宫中空间记忆的降低。在 As 处理的动物中观察到 Se 逆转了海马中海马酸（MDA）和乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的降低，而在 As+Se 处理的动物中，海马中的抗氧化酶活性高于 dw+As 处理的动物。组织病理学研究表明，Se 逆转了 As 处理大鼠海马的恶化。结果可能暗示通过 Se 补充和/或增加更安全的摄入量来预防砷引起的行为和生化指标中毒。
