Potential protective effects of oral administration of allicin on acrylamide-induced toxicity in male mice

Acrylamide (AA) forms during the heating of starchy foods at high temperature, and is regarded as a potential genotoxic carcinogen. However, with the worldwide concern about the carcinogenicity of AA, how to reduce the toxicity of AA has become a hot research topic. In this study, we further discussed the effects of oral administration of allicin on AA-induced toxicity by determining the hematological, biochemical and immunological parameters in the serum, kidney, liver, and brain of male mice. Our data showed that the orally administered allicin of 5, 10, and 20 mg kg(-1) bw d(-1) could significantly decrease thiobarbituric reactive substances (TBARS) and myeloperoxidase (MPO) levels, and simultaneously remarkably increased the superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, glutathione S-transferase (GST) and glutathione (GSH) levels in the kidney, liver, and brain of the AA-treated mice. Furthermore, oral administration of allicin not only significantly decreased aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin (IL)-1 beta, interleukin (IL)-6, reactive oxygen species (ROS), and 8-hydroxy-desoxyguanosine (8-OHdG), but also increased interleukin (IL)-10 in the serum of AA-treated mice. Therefore, it was concluded that oral administration of allicin had a significant in vivo protective effect against the AA induced toxicity.