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Kefir milk alleviates benzene-induced immunotoxicity and hematotoxicity in rats

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Abstract

The adverse health effects of benzene occupational and circumstance pollution exposure are an increasing concern. It leads to damage to various human tissues including bone marrow and ovarian tissues and many vital physiological processes. Previous studies showed that kefir is a rich probiotic, having protective effect, thanks to its antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulatory capacity. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the potential efficacy of kefir to remediate benzene toxicity in rat. Thirty-two female rats were randomly allocated and administered orally with benzene and/or kefir during a period of 21 consecutive days. At the end of the experiment, hematological and bone marrow cell changes were estimated. The animals exposed to benzene exhibited anemia and a significant decrease in the levels of white blood cell. Moreover, benzene led to the activation of gene expression of the pro-inflammatory cytokines interleukin-1β (IL-1β) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), a myelotoxicity in bone marrow cells. Our data showed that kefir treatment alleviated benzene-associated weight loss and increased the number of whole blood cells in peripheral blood and nucleated cells in the bone marrow. Furthermore, these physiological results were observed with animals showing high concentrations of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) determined from fecal samples, which are considered an indicator of kefir-associated microorganisms. Our study suggests that kefir is a potential nutritional supplement target to attenuate hematotoxicity induced by benzene.

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Data availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Abbreviations

BEK:

group of benzene and kefir co-treated rats

BEN:

group of benzene-treated rats

cDNA:

complementary deoxyribonucleic acid

CFU:

colony forming units

CTR:

control

CTR:

group of control rats

DNA:

deoxyribonucleic acid

EDTA:

ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid

GAPDH:

glyceraldehyde-3-phosphate dehydrogenase

HCT:

hematocrit

HGB:

hemoglobin

HTLV-1:

human T-lymphotropic virus type I

IL-1β:

interleukin 1-β

IL-6:

interleukin 6

KEF:

group of kefir control rats

LAB:

lactic acid bacteria

MCH:

mean corpuscular hemoglobin

MCHC:

mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration

MCV:

mean corpuscular volume

mRNA:

messenger ribonucleic acid

MRS:

de Man, Rogosa and Sharpe

NF-κB:

nucleus factor-kappa B

PBMC:

peripheral blood mononuclear cells

PBS:

phosphate-buffered saline

PLT:

platelets

RBC:

red blood cell

RNA:

ribonucleic acid

RPMI:

Roswell Park Memorial Institute medium

RT-PCR:

reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction

SEM:

standard error of the mean

SPSS:

Statistical Package for the Social Sciences

TNF-α:

tumor necrosis factor α

WBC:

white blood cell

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Microorganisms and Actives Biomolecules, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Olfa Ben Dhia, Nouha Harizi, Nessrine Souai, Afef Najjari & Hadda-Imene Ouzari

  2. Laboratory of Neurophysiology, Cellular Physiopathology and Bioressources Valorization, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Mohamed Montassar Lasram & Sonia Ben-Hadj-Khalifa

  3. Laboratory of Anatomy and Pathological Cytology, Salah Azaiez Institute, University of Tunis El Manar, Tunis, Tunisia

    Raoudha Doghri & Lamia Charfi

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  1. Olfa Ben Dhia
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Contributions

All authors of this research paper have directly participated in the planning, execution, or analysis of this study.

Olfa Ben Dhia, Mohamed Montassar Lasram, Sonia Ben-Hadj-Khalifa, Nouha Harizi, Nessrine Souai, and Afef Najjari performed the preparation of material, experimental design, and data analysis.

Raoudha Doghri and Lamia Charfi conducted the histological analysis.

Mohamed Montassar Lasram, Sonia Ben-Hadj-Khalifa, and Olfa Ben Dhia wrote the first draft of the manuscript.

Hadda-Imene Ouzari commented on the manuscript.

All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Olfa Ben Dhia.

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All procedures were performed in accordance with the standard guidelines for care and use of laboratory animals, and approved by the Committee on Animal Care and Use of Pasteur Institute, El Manar University.

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Ben Dhia, O., Lasram, M.M., Harizi, N. et al. Kefir milk alleviates benzene-induced immunotoxicity and hematotoxicity in rats. Environ Sci Pollut Res 28, 42230–42242 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13569-3

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