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Hematotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Mercuric Chloride Following Subchronic Exposure Through Drinking Water in Male Rats

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Abstract

Erythrocytes are a convenient model to understand the subsequent oxidative deterioration of biological macromolecules in metal toxicities. The present study examined the variation of hematoxic and genotoxic parameters following subchronic exposure of mercuric chloride via drinking water and their possible association with oxidative stress. Male rats were exposed to 50 ppm (HG1) and 100 ppm (HG2) of mercuric chloride daily for 90 days. A significant dose-dependent decrease was observed in red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit, and mean cell hemoglobin concentration in treated groups (HG1 and HG2) compared with controls. A significant dose-dependent increase was observed in lipid peroxidation; therefore, a significant variation was found in the antioxidant enzyme activities, such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase. Interestingly, mercuric chloride treatment showed a significant dose-dependent increase in frequency of total chromosomal aberration and in percentage of aberrant bone marrow metaphase of treated groups (p < 0.01). The oxidative stress induced by mercury treatment may be the major cause for chromosomal aberration as free radicals lead to DNA damage. These data will be useful in screening the antioxidant activities of natural products, which may be specific to the bone marrow tissue.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research in Tunisia.

Conflicts of interest

We declare that we do not have any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal, or other relationships with other people or organizations concerning this work which will be published in your journal.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Animal Ecophysiology, Faculty of Sciences, Sfax, Tunisia

    Mohamed Ali Boujbiha, Mongi Saoudi & Abdelfattah El Feki

  2. Laboratory of Human Molecular Genetics, Faculty of Medicine, Sfax, Tunisia

    Ghada Ben Salah, Hassen Kamoun & Faiza Fakhfakh

  3. Research Unit of Genetic, Biodiversity and Valorisation of Bioresources, Biotechnology Institute, Monastir, Tunisia

    Abdelraouf Ben Feleh & Khaled Said

  4. Laboratory of Biochemistry, CHU Sahloul, Sousse, Tunisia

    Ali Bousslema & Asma Ommezzine

Authors
  1. Mohamed Ali Boujbiha
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  2. Ghada Ben Salah
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  3. Abdelraouf Ben Feleh
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  4. Mongi Saoudi
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  5. Hassen Kamoun
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  6. Ali Bousslema
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  7. Asma Ommezzine
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  8. Khaled Said
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  9. Faiza Fakhfakh
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  10. Abdelfattah El Feki
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Correspondence to Abdelfattah El Feki.

Additional information

Mohamed Ali Boujbiha and Ghada Ben Salah participated equally to this work.

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Boujbiha, M.A., Ben Salah, G., Ben Feleh, A. et al. Hematotoxicity and Genotoxicity of Mercuric Chloride Following Subchronic Exposure Through Drinking Water in Male Rats. Biol Trace Elem Res 148, 76–82 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9342-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-012-9342-8

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