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Assessment of hepato-renal damage and genotoxicity induced by long-term exposure to five permitted food additives in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research volume 25, pages 26341–26350 (2018)Cite this article

Abstract

The present study assessed the long-term daily administration of benzoic acid (BA), potassium sorbate (PS), chlorophyll (CPL), tartrazine (TAZ), and butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) on hepato-renal changes and DNA damage in rats. Animals were orally administered with the 10 times of the acceptable daily intake (ADI) from each tested substance daily for 60 consecutive days. Blood, liver, and kidney samples were collected to evaluate hematological, biochemical, histopathological, and genotoxic alterations. The extent of liver and kidney damage was evaluated by comet assay and histopathologically. Significant reduction of leukocyte numbers and lymphocytes % in CPL- and TAZ-treated rats. However, significant increases in platelet count in all treated groups after 60 days were detected. The levels of serum transaminases enzymes (ALT, AST), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), and creatinine were significantly increased in all treatments except with BHA group, but no substantial differences were found in urea after 60 days. Aside from BHA, results of DNA damage revealed significant increases in tailed nuclei, tail moment, DNA% in the tail, and tail length in liver and kidney at different degrees. Moreover, the histopathological figures of liver and kidneys affirmed destructive and degenerative changes. The study indicates that most of the tested food additives may provoke genotoxicity and hepato-nephropathy, which could be serious for human health. Therefore, it is necessary to be informed about the hazardous effects of food additives and more attention should be focused towards using natural substitutes.

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Acknowledgments

This work was funded by Cairo University, Project entitled “Assessment of Residual patterns and Genotoxicity of some food additives using LMRS (laser molecular Raman spectroscopy).”

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Cairo University, Giza, 12211, Egypt

    Khaled Abo-EL-Sooud, Mohamed M. Hashem & Ahmed Bahy-EL-Dien

  2. Department of Laser Sciences and Interactions, National Institute of Laser Enhanced Sciences, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

    Yahia A. Badr

  3. Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, Cairo University, Giza, Egypt

    Mona M. E. Eleiwa

  4. The Holding Company for Biological Products & Vaccines VACSERA, Giza, Egypt

    Ali Q. Gab-Allaha

  5. Department of Forensic Medicine and Toxicology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Zagazig University, Zagazig, Egypt

    Yasmina M. Abd-Elhakim

Authors
  1. Khaled Abo-EL-Sooud
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  2. Mohamed M. Hashem
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  3. Yahia A. Badr
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  4. Mona M. E. Eleiwa
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  5. Ali Q. Gab-Allaha
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  6. Yasmina M. Abd-Elhakim
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  7. Ahmed Bahy-EL-Dien
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Correspondence to Yasmina M. Abd-Elhakim.

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Responsible editor: Philippe Garrigues

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Abo-EL-Sooud, K., Hashem, M.M., Badr, Y.A. et al. Assessment of hepato-renal damage and genotoxicity induced by long-term exposure to five permitted food additives in rats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 25, 26341–26350 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2665-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-018-2665-z

Keywords

  • Food additives
  • Benzoic acid
  • Potassium sorbate
  • Chlorophyll
  • Tartrazine
  • Butylated hydroxyanisole