Abstract

Cadmium is a widely distributed environmental pollutant and toxicant. The present study was carried out to evaluate the effects of vitamins C and E on cadmium-induced serum levels of alkaline phosphatase (ALP), urea, creatinine, progesterone, LH and FSH in the female guinea pig. Animals were given single doses of vitamins C (1.5 mg/kg) and E (50 mg/kg) per oral and (0 - 8 mg Cd/kg ip) for 24 h. Animals were sacrificed and the serum levels of the above parameters were measured. Also, the effects of pretreatments with vitamins C and E on Cd-induced serum levels of the parameters were determined. Serum levels of all parameters were significantly (p ≤ 0.05) decreased in a dose-dependent manner in vitamins-treated animals, while they were increased in cadmium-treated animals, compared to the control animals. Furthermore, pretreatments with vitamins C, E and combination of both vitamins reduced the cadmium-induced serum levels of all parameters, which was most pronounced in animals pretreated with a combination of both vitamins, especially on ALP and progesterone levels. These results may be due to the oxidative and anti-oxidative properties of cadmium and the vitamins (C and E) respectively, acting through calcium and protein kinase C signal transduction pathways.

Key words: Antioxidants, cadmium, pretreatment and vitamins.

Abbreviation

ALP, Alkaline phosphatase; Cd, cadmium; Vit C, vitamin C; Vit E,vitamin E; LH, luteinizing hormone; FSH, follicle- stimulating hormone; ip, intra-peritoneally; ROS, reactive oxygen species; PKC, protein kinase C; ALP, alkaline phosphatase; SEM, standard error of mean.