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Abstract

Objective: The present study was conducted to measure the oxidative stress and hepatotoxicity in lead intoxicated sprague dawley rats with and without supplementation of ascorbic acid.Study Design: Randomized Control Trial.Place of Study: Physiology Department, Army Medical College, Rawalpindi. (From Oct 2007 to Sep 2008)Material and Methods: One hundred and five male rats (age, 90-120 days; weight 200 - 250 gm) were divided into three groups each having 35 rats. Rats of group 1 and group 2 were given weekly injections of sodium acetate (10 mg /kg body weight) and lead acetate (10 mg /kg body weight) respectively, whereas rats of group 3 were administered lead acetate(10 mg /kg body weight) through weekly injections and ascorbic acid in drinking water (500 mg/l). After 6 weeks, 4 ml of blood was drawn from each rat by cardiac puncture. The blood was allowed to clot and serum was separated for estimation of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) levels on spectrophotometer; and serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) levels and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) levels on Merck Micorlab 200.Results: Lead intoxication of rats revealed that serum MDA levels were raised to 7.8 ± 0.48 ìmol/l (control, 3.2 ± 0.39ìmol/l), ALT levels to 76.26 ± 5.88 IU/l (control, 44.1 ± 3.26) and AST levels to 258.06 ± 13.30 IU/l (control, 156.2 ± 4.97). Ascorbic acid supplementation significantly lowered serum MDA levels (3.8 ± 0.34 ìmol/l), ALT levels (52.26 ± 4.57 IU/l) and AST levels (188.13 ± 12.91 IU/l).Conclusion: Ascorbic acid supplementation ameliorates lead intoxication probably by reducing the oxidative stress, thus preventing the development of hepatotoxicity, but this amelioration is not equal to the control.