The protective role of quercetin and arginine on gold nanoparticles induced hepatotoxicity in rats

Mohamed Anwar K Abdelhalim,1 Sherif A Abdelmottaleb Moussa,2,3 Huda Abdo Yahya Qaid1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Sciences, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Committee of Radiation and Environmental Pollution Protection (CREPP), Department of Physics, College of Science, Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Biophysics Group, Biochemistry Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt Background: The aim of the study was to confirm the hepatotoxicity induced by small-sized gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and evaluate the role of quercetin (Qur) and arginine (Arg) against hepatotoxicity caused by GNPs.Methods: Twenty-five healthy male Wistar-Kyoto rats were used. GNPs were administered intraperitoneally to these rats at the dose of 50 µL for seven consecutive days. The role of Qur and Arg antioxidants against toxicity induced by GNPs was detected through the measurement of serum liver function and oxidative stress biomarkers in the liver tissues.Results: Coadministration of Qur and Arg along with GNPs significantly induced dramatic alterations in the biochemical parameters. Levels of malondialdehyde, gamma-glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, and total protein increased significantly in the GNPs injected group than in the control group, while reduced glutathione was greatly reduced in the GNPs group than in the control group. It also significantly decreased liver enzymes and the oxidative stress, therefore improving the liver damage and hepatotoxicity induced by GNPs.Conclusion: This study demonstrated that Qur and Arg antioxidants effectively improved the hepatic oxidative damage induced by GNPs. It also substantiates the application of Qur and Arg as protecting stand-in against GNPs’ hepatotoxicity. Keywords: antioxidants, oxidative stress, gold nanoparticles, hepatotoxicity, quercetin, arginine, rat

Effect of melanin on gold nanoparticle-induced hepatotoxicity and lipid peroxidation in rats

Mohamed Anwar K Abdelhalim,1 Sherif A Abdelmottaleb Moussa,2,3 Huda AY Qaid,1 Mohammed Suliman Al-Ayed1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Committee of Radiation and Environmental Pollution Protection (CREPP), Department of Physics, College of Science, Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University (IMSIU), Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Biophysics Group, Biochemistry Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Center, Giza, Egypt Introduction: Melanin pigments are produced by melanocytes and are believed to act as antioxidants based on the belief that melanin can suppress electronically stirred states and scavenge the free radicals. Materials and methods: The study was aimed to verify and prove the toxicity induced by administration of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and to characterize the role of melanin as an antioxidant against inflammatory liver damage, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation induced intraperitoneally by GNPs in vivo. Results: The findings from this study confirmed that administration of GNPs intraperitoneally caused liver damage in addition to producing oxidative stress and fatty acid peroxidation. The treatment of rats with melanin along with GNPs induced dramatic changes in all the measured biochemical parameters. Our data demonstrated that melanin completely inhibited inflammatory liver damage, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation, which was confirmed by the histological investigation of different liver sections stained by H&E. Conclusion: These results suggest the beneficial use of melanin together with GNPs for alleviating its toxicity. Other studies should be implemented taking into consideration the role of melanin in comparison with other natural antioxidants. Keywords: liver, gold nanoparticles, hepatotoxicity, oxidative stress, lipid peroxidation, histological investigatio

Potential effects of different natural antioxidants on inflammatory damage and oxidative-mediated hepatotoxicity induced by gold nanoparticles

Mohamed Anwar K Abdelhalim,1 Sherif A Abdelmottaleb Moussa,2,3 Huda AY Qaid,1 Mohammed Suliman Al-Ayed1 1Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 2Committee of Radiation and Environmental Pollution Protection, Department of Physics, College of Science, Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; 3Biophysics Group, Biochemistry Department, Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology Division, National Research Centre, Giza, Egypt Objective: The objective of this study was to verify and confirm the oxidative-mediated hepatotoxicity, inflammatory liver damage, and oxidative stress induced by intraperitoneal administration of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) in vivo; characterize the effect of different natural antioxidants on these hazardous changes; and finally choose the most powerful antioxidant among these different natural antioxidants.Methods: Ten-nanometer GNPs were dissolved in aqueous solution of 0.01% concentration. A dose of 50 µL of 10 nm GNPs was administered intraperitoneally for 7 days to the rats, whereas the antioxidants were orally administered for the same time period. The antioxidants used in the study were vitamin E (Vit E), α-lipoic acid (ALA), quercetin (Qur), arginine (Arg), and melanin. Forty Wistar-Kyoto male rats were used. Rats were arbitrarily divided into seven groups after acclimatization for 1 week. For serum separation, blood samples were obtained from each animal. Serum liver function markers and tissue oxidative stress and lipid proxidation biomarkers were assessed.Results: The increase in the levels of gamma-glutamyl transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total protein, alanine aminotransferase, and total bilirubin in the serum of rats and the increase of malondialdehyde in the hepatic tissue and decrease in reduced glutathione when compared with the control in this study confirmed the ability of GNPs to cause hazardous effects.Conclusion: Treatment of rats with Vit E, ALA, Qur, Arg, and melanin along with GNPs significantly inhibited the inflammatory liver damage, lipid peroxidation, and the oxidative stress induced by GNPs in vivo, but with different responses due to their evaluated normalization values, and it has been confirmed that melanin is the most powerful antioxidant among these different natural antioxidants, ie, it has the most effective potential role against the hepatic inflammatory damage, oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation. Keywords: antioxidants, oxidative stress, gold nanoparticles, hepatotoxicity, vitamin E, α-lipoic acid, quercetin, arginine, melanin, rat

Effects of quercetin and arginine on the nephrotoxicity and lipid peroxidation induced by gold nanoparticles in vivo

Mohamed Anwar K Abdelhalim, Huda AY Qaid, Yanallah Al-Mohy, Mohammed Suliman Al-Ayed Department of Physics and Astronomy, College of Science, King Saud University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the nephrotoxicity caused by gold nanoparticles (GNPs) and investigate the potential roles of quercetin (Qur) and arginine (Arg) in mitigating the inflammatory kidney damage and dysfunction and inhibiting the toxicity induced by GNPs in rats.Methods: Kidney function was assessed using various serum biomarkers, including blood urea nitrogen (BUN), uric acid (URIC), and creatinine (CR), while toxicity was evaluated by measuring the biomarkers glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) in kidney tissues. Results: Administration of GNPs to the rats severely affected the serum kidney biomarkers, as confirmed by the notable increases in BUN, URIC, and CR. Substantial changes in the levels of the biomarkers MDA and GSH in the kidney tissues were also observed, with a reduced level of GSH and elevated MDA activity. The administration of Qur or Arg exerted a protective effect against GNP-induced inflammatory kidney damage and toxicity, but with different responses according to their evaluated normalized values.Conclusion: This study demonstrates the beneficial effects of supplementation with Qur or Arg during the treatment with GNPs, potentially providing a powerful tool for cancer therapy. Keywords: gold nanoparticles, nephrotoxicity, lipid peroxidation, inflammatory damage, natural antioxidant