Department of Food Science and Engineering, Institute of Food Safety and Nutrition, Guangdong Engineering Technology Center of Food Safety Molecular Rapid Detection, Jinan University, Guangzhou, China.
Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2024 Nov;64(31):11530-11542. doi: 10.1080/10408398.2023.2240399. Epub 2023 Aug 1.
Heavy metals are harmful environmental pollutants that have attracted widespread attention, attributed to their health hazards to humans and animals. Due to the non-degradable property of heavy metals, organisms are inevitably exposed to heavy metals such as arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg). Several studies revealed that heavy metals can cause reproductive damage by the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which exacerbates oxidative stress, inflammation, and endocrine disruption. Natural antioxidants, mainly polyphenols, carotenoids, and vitamins, have been shown to mitigate heavy metal-induced reproductive toxicity potentially. In this review, accumulated evidences on the influences of four non-essential heavy metals As, Cd, Pb, and Hg on both males and females reproductive system were established. The purpose of this review is to explore the potential mechanisms of the effects of heavy metals on reproductive function and point out the potential biomarkers of natural antioxidants interventions toward heavy metal-induced reproductive toxicity. Notably, increasing evidence proven that the regulations of hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis, Nrf2, MAPK, or NF-κB pathways are the important mechanisms for the amelioration of heavy metal induced reproductive toxicity by natural antioxidants. It also provided a promising guidance for prevention and management of heavy metal-induced reproductive toxicity.
重金属是有害的环境污染物，由于其对人类和动物的健康危害而引起了广泛关注。由于重金属不可降解，生物不可避免地会接触到砷（As）、镉（Cd）、铅（Pb）和汞（Hg）等重金属。几项研究表明，重金属通过过量产生活性氧物种（ROS）引起生殖损伤，从而加剧氧化应激、炎症和内分泌紊乱。已证实天然抗氧化剂（主要是多酚、类胡萝卜素和维生素）可以减轻重金属引起的生殖毒性。在这篇综述中，建立了四种非必需重金属 As、Cd、Pb 和 Hg 对男性和女性生殖系统的影响的累积证据。本综述的目的是探讨重金属对生殖功能影响的潜在机制，并指出天然抗氧化剂干预重金属诱导的生殖毒性的潜在生物标志物。值得注意的是，越来越多的证据证明，下丘脑-垂体-性腺轴、Nrf2、MAPK 或 NF-κB 通路的调节是天然抗氧化剂改善重金属诱导的生殖毒性的重要机制。它还为预防和管理重金属引起的生殖毒性提供了有希望的指导。
