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Possible antioxidant effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on hepatic cadmium-induced oxidative stress in rats

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Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the potential protective effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides (LBP) pretreatment against cadmium (Cd)-induced hepatotoxicity in rats. Wistar rats were divided into control group, LBP group (300 mg/kg orally, once a day, for 30 days), Cd group (CdCl2 4 mg/kg i.p. once), and LBP + Cd group (LBP 300 mg/kg orally, once a day, for 30 days + CdCl2 4 mg/kg i.p. 24 h after the last treatment). Cd liver injury was examined by morphological/histological changes, transaminases, total protein concentration, and oxidative stress evaluated by MDA, 3NT, GSH, SOD, and TEAC activities. Cd intoxication caused gross morphological changes with hyperemia of the parenchyma, increased volume, and disappearance of the anatomical limits of the lobes associated with an increase of ALT, GSH, and TEAC in plasma and a decrease of MDA, GSH, and TEAC in liver, SOD, and total proteins in plasma. LBP pretreatment caused a slight improvement in the histological architecture and in the 3NT amount together with a significant improvement of hematic parameters. On the basis of the obtained results, we can affirm that LBP pretreatment can ameliorate liver conditions, but further studies are needed to better evaluate the protective antioxidant effects of LBP against Cd-induced toxicity.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Specchiasol for providing LBP powder.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Sassari, via Vienna 2, 07100, Sassari, Italy

    Maria Vittoria Varoni, Valeria Pasciu, Sergio Domenico Gadau, Elena Baralla, Elisa Serra, Domenico Palomba & Maria Piera Demontis

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  1. Maria Vittoria Varoni
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  2. Valeria Pasciu
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  3. Sergio Domenico Gadau
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  4. Elena Baralla
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  5. Elisa Serra
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  6. Domenico Palomba
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  7. Maria Piera Demontis
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Correspondence to Elena Baralla.

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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

Valeria Pasciu and Sergio Domenico Gadau contributed equally to this work.

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Varoni, M.V., Pasciu, V., Gadau, S.D. et al. Possible antioxidant effect of Lycium barbarum polysaccharides on hepatic cadmium-induced oxidative stress in rats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 24, 2946–2955 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-016-8050-x

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