Ameliorating potentials of antioxidants on the lead-induced immunotoxicity in male Wistar rats

Lead exposure is a significant environmental and public health concern, known for its detrimental effects on various physiological systems, including the immune system. The study was undertaken to establish the ameliorating action of antioxidants on lead-induced toxicity on immunoglobulins using male Wistar rats as experimental models. One hundred and sixty-two male Wistar rats with weights between 180 and 200 g were obtained from the Experimental Animal Farm of the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The Wistar rats were housed in wooden animal cages in a well-ventilated experimental room. Handling of the animals was in accordance with relevant institutional and ethical guidelines as approved for scientific study. The control group (group 1) was orally given 0.5 ml of distilled water, while the treatment groups (groups 2 to 9) were orally given different substances as follows: 10 mg/kg body weight (BW) of lead only, 200 mg/kg BW of vitamin C only, 1000 iu/kg BW of vitamin E only, 10 mg/kg BW of lead + 200 mg/kg BW of vitamin C, 10 mg/kg BW of lead + 1000 iu/kg BW of vitamin E, 10 mg/kg BW of lead + 40 mg/BW levamisole, 10 mg/kg BW of lead + 200 mg/kg BW of vitamin C + 40 mg/BW levamisole, and 10 mg/kg BW of lead + 1000 iu/kg BW of vitamin E + 40 mg/BW levamisole, respectively, once a day. The experiment was conducted in three phases (phases 1 to 3), which lasted for 7 days (acute phase), 30 days (sub-acute phase), and 60 days (chronic phase). At the end of the experimentation for each phase, five rats were sacrificed, and blood samples were collected from each rat and examined for immunological parameters. The effects of treatment with lead and antioxidants were compared with the control group. There was a significant decrease in the concentrations of the immunoglobulins in the lead group with respect to the control in all the phases. There was also a significant increase in the concentrations of the immunoglobulins in groups 3 and 4 with respect to the control in phases 1 and 2 and a significant increase in the concentrations of the immunoglobulins in groups 5 to 9 with respect to the lead group in all three phases. The antioxidants have, therefore, demonstrated the ability to ameliorate the lead-induced toxicity on the immunoglobulins.