Abstract

Antioxidant status of ginger against mercury induced toxicity in the brain of rat

Author(s): P.Muthukumran, V.Hazeena Begum, K.Pattabiraman

The impact of mercuric chloride on antioxidant status in the brain tissue of rats, Rattus norvegicus, was studied. Mercury poisoining induced oxidative stress leading to generation of free radicals and simultaneous alterations in antioxidant mechanism in animals. In the present study, the level of lipid peroxidation (LPO) was increased in the brain tissue of rats at sublethal dose of mercuric chloride (2mg/kg body wt.) treatment for 30 days and simultaneously decreased level of glutathione (GSH), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) contents were also noticed in the mercury intoxicated brain tissue. During the recovery span an altered level of antioxidant status was restored to near normal level in the brain tissue of mercury intoxicated animal when treated with ethanolic ginger extract (200mg/kg body wt.) For another 15 days. Ginger play a vital role to detoxify mercury toxicant in the mercury intoxicated animals. The results were discussed in detail.