Protective Function of Butylated Hydroxytoluene in Lead-Induced Oxidative Alterations in Tissues of Wistar Rats

This study was designed to evaluate the protective function of butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) in Pb-induced oxidative damage to blood, hepatic and renal tissues of exposed rats. Four groups (I-IV) with six male Wistar rats each, were considered in this study, where group I rats (control) received 1 ml of corn oil, group II receive intraperitoneally 30 mg PbCl₂/kg b. wt of rats only, group III rats were administered with NOAEL of BHT at 25 mg/kg and group IV rats were administered intraperitoneal injection of 30 mg PbCl₂ plus oral administration of 25 mg BHT dispersed in corn oil per kg b. wt of the rats for 28 days with the evaluation of oxidative stress biomarkers in the tissues. Pb significantly increased tissue MDA levels in group II rats, but BHT reduced MDA levels in tissues for groups III and IV rats at p<0.05 relative to control. In serum, biomarkers (GSH: 1.46 ± 0.08 μg/mg protein; CAT: 63.74 ± 0.20 nits/mg protein; SOD: 16.49 ± 0.39 units/mg protein and GPx: 12.84 ± 0.17 units/mg protein) exhibited significant reduction (p<0.05) in group II rats, but were significantly stimulated in groups III and IV rats relative to group I rats. Similar trends were observed in hepatic and renal tissues. Therefore, the present study successfully established the functional role of BHT in the amelioration of Pb-induced oxidative stress in exposed rats.

Keywords
Antioxidant; Biomarkers; Butylated hydroxytoluene; Oxidative stress; Lead toxicity