The Effect of Antioxidant Agents on Cadmium Induced Impairment in Gastric Mucosa of Rats

The balance between antioxidative and oxidative capacity of gastric mucosal epithelium plays an important role in maintenance of gastric mucosal integrity. High cadmium intake, disturbs this balance by increasing lipid peroxidation.
In this experimental study, lipid peroxidation induced mucosal damage and its prevention due to antioxidant agents were investigated in rats exposed to high cadmium instake. It was found that gastric mucin decreased from 188.06 ± 10.76 g/g wet wt to 158.41 ± 22.74 g/g wet wt (p<0.01) and PGE2 levels declined from 1321.92 ± 271.65 g/g wet wt to 1030.30 ± 278.51 g/g wet wt (p<0.05) and an increment of hemoglobin leakage into luminal fluid was observed in rats received 1.5 g/ml of cadmium containing water for 30 days in these exposed animals. TBARS levels in blood and gastric mucosa increased from 13.33 ± 3.30 nmol/g Hb to 19.54 ± 6.92 nmol/g Hb (p<0.05) and from 685.0 ± 123.70 nmol/g protein to 1090 ± 154.40 nmol/g protein, respectively. Co-administration of cadmium with antioxidant agents (1.42 g/kg Se, 0.21 U/kg Vit. E, 14.3 U/kg Vit. A, 0.86 mg/kg Vit. C) did not prevent the lipid peroxidative effect of cadmium in gastric mucosa of rats.