Metabolic Effect of Acute Lead and Restraint Stress Exposure on Female Wistar Rats

Lead is a common environmental toxicant while restraint stress is primarily a psychological stressor. Lead exposure and psychological stressors, are known to exert adverse effects on metabolic health independently. The aim of this study is to investigate the metabolic effects of acute lead and restraint stress exposure in female Wistar rats. Twenty-four (24) female Wistar rats weighing 180 - 240 grams were randomly divided into four (4) groups (n=6): Control (CTL), Restraint stress alone (RSA), Lead acetate alone (LDA), Restraint stress + Lead acetate (RSL). The duration of the study was 21 days. The lead acetate alone group were orally administered 100mg/kg of lead acetate, the restraint stress alone group were restrained for 1 hour daily and the restraint stress + lead group were administered lead acetate and restrained for 1 hour daily. Twenty-four hours post last lead administration and restraint stress exposure, all animals were anesthetized and sacrificed. Blood was collected via cardiac puncture for biochemical analysis. Results showed serum low-density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides (TAG) and total cholesterol (CHO) levels in lead alone and restraint stress alone groups were significantly increased (p<0.05) compared with control. The restraint + lead group showed a significant increase in serum LDL, TAG and CHO levels when compared with control, lead alone and restraint stress alone groups. Serum HDL levels showed no significant difference across all groups. Serum glucose, insulin and cortisol levels in lead alone and restraint stress alone groups were significantly increased (p<0.05) when compared with control. The restraint + lead group showed a significant increase (p<0.05) in serum glucose, insulin and cortisol levels when compared with control, lead alone and restraint alone groups. In conclusion, this study showed that exposure to restraint stress and lead has a significant effect on the metabolic profile of female Wistar rats.