The ability of albumin and cysteine to mitigate toxic effect of acrylamide in rats

Abstract

The toxic effects of acrylamide (ACR) on adult male albino rats and the effect of albumin and cysteine administration to mitigate this toxicity were studied. Fifty six adult male albino rats, Sprague-Dawley strain, weighing 100-120g were divided into seven groups (8 rats each).The first group served as normal control fed on basal diet, the second group fed on basal diet and received low dose of ACR (15 mg/kg body weight), the third group fed on basal diet and received high dose of ACR (30 mg/kg body weight), the fourth group fed on basal diet and received low dose of ACR and 10mg albumin/1mg ACR, the fifth group fed on basal diet and received high dose of ACR and 10mg albumin/1mg ACR, the sixth group fed on basal diet and received low dose of ACR and 10mg cysteine/1mg ACR and the seventh group fed on basal diet and received high dose of ACR and 10mg cysteine/1mg ACR, oral gavage administrations of ACR, albumin and cysteine were 5 times weekly for 6 weeks. The results showed that ACR administration resulted in a significant elevation of hepatic malondialdehyde level (MDA), serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities, blood urea and serum creatinine levels. The treatment with albumin or cysteine significantly decreased the elevated levels. On the other hand, ACR induced a significant reduction of hepatic glutathione content (GSH), brain deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and ribonucleic acid (RNA) contents as well as marked decrease of testosterone level. The treatment with albumin or cysteine induced a significant increase of the previous parameters. It can be concluded that both albumin and cysteine may play a role in reducing the toxic effects of acrylamide.