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Oxidative damage induced by chromium (VI) in rat erythrocytes: protective effect of selenium

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Abstract

Excess chromium (Cr) exposure is associated with various pathological conditions including hematological dysfunction. The generation of oxidative stress is one of the plausible mechanisms behind Cr-induced cellular deteriorations. The efficacy of selenium (Se) to combat Cr-induced oxidative damage in the erythrocytes of adult rats was investigated in the current study. Female Wistar rats were randomly divided into four groups of six each: group I served as controls which received standard diet, group II received in drinking water K2Cr2O7 alone (700 ppm), group III received both K2Cr2O7 and Se (0.5 Na2SeO3 mg/kg of diet), and group IV received Se (0.5 mg/kg of diet) for 3 weeks. Rats exposed to K2Cr2O7 showed an increase of malondialdehyde and protein carbonyl levels and a decrease of sulfhydryl content, glutathione, non-protein thiol, and vitamin C levels. A decrease of enzyme activities like catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activities was also noted. Co-administration of Se with K2Cr2O7 restored the parameters cited above to near-normal values. Therefore, our investigation revealed that Se was a useful element preventing K2Cr2O7-induced erythrocyte damages.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the DGRST grants (Appui à la Recherche Universitaire de Base ARUB 99/UR/08-73), Tunisia. The authors are indebted to Mr. Bejaoui Hafedh, teacher of English at Sfax Faculty of Science, who has proofread and edited this paper.

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The authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Animal Physiology Laboratory, UR/08-73, Faculty of Sciences, University of Sfax, BP1171, 3000, Sfax, Tunisia

    Nejla Soudani, Ibtissem Ben Amara, Afef Troudi, Hanen Bouaziz & Najiba Zeghal

  2. Laboratory of Pharmacology, Medicine Faculty, University of Sfax, 3029, Sfax, Tunisia

    Ahmed Hakim & Khaled Mounir Zeghal

  3. Biochemistry Laboratory, CHU Habib Bourguiba, University of Sfax, Sfax, Tunisia

    Fatma Ayadi Makni

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  1. Nejla Soudani
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  2. Ibtissem Ben Amara
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Correspondence to Najiba Zeghal.

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Ibtissem Ben Amara and Afef Troudi contributed equally to this work.

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Soudani, N., Ben Amara, I., Troudi, A. et al. Oxidative damage induced by chromium (VI) in rat erythrocytes: protective effect of selenium. J Physiol Biochem 67, 577–588 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13105-011-0104-4

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