Studies on comparative efficacy of α-linolenic acid and α-eleostearic acid on prevention of organic mercury-induced oxidative stress in kidney and liver of rat

The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of alpha-linolenic acid and alpha-eleostearic acid, two isomers of linolenic acid, against oxidative stress induced by organic mercury in kidney and liver cells of rat. Male albino rats were divided into six groups. Groups 1, 2 were normal control and methyl mercury chloride (MeHgCl) treated (5 mg/kg BW/day) control, respectively. Groups 3, 4, 5 and 6 were orally treated with different doses of two fatty acids (0.5% and 1.0% of total lipid given for each isomer) along with MeHgCl (5 mg/kg BW). Results showed that activity of antioxidant enzymes viz. catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), reduced glutathione (GSH) in liver and kidney decreased significantly due to oxidative stress generated by MeHg. Administration of the linolenic acid isomers almost restored all the altered parameters and also reduced lipid peroxidation and leakage of trans-aminase enzymes from liver to blood due to liver injury when administrated in higher doses. Histopathology of liver and kidney cells showed that administration of alpha-linolenic acid significantly reduced the damage generated by MeHg. Thus, alpha-linolenic acid and alpha-eleostearic acid could serve as cost-effective and natural phytochemical preparation to protect against the adverse effects caused by organic mercury in human. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.