الفهرس | Only 14 pages are availabe for public view |
Abstract The liver is essential in keeping the body functioning properly while muscular strength is important in sport as well as in daily activities. Exposure to ionizing radiation is thought to increase oxidative stress and damage liver and muscle tissues. Wheat germ oil is a natural unrefined vegetable oil. It is an excellent source of vitamin E, octacosanol, linoleic and linolenic essential fatty acids, which may be beneficial in neutralizing the free oxygen radicals. This study was designed to investigate the efficacy of wheat germ oil, on radiationinduced oxidative damage in rat’s liver and skeletal muscle. Wheat germ oil was supplemented orally via gavage to rats at a dose of 54 mg/ kg body weight for 14 successive days pre- and 7 days post-exposure to 5 Gy (single dose) of whole body γ- irradiation. Animals were sacrificed 7, 14 and 21 days post radiation exposure. The results revealed that whole body γ-irradiation of rats induces oxidative stress in liver and skeletal muscles obvious by significant elevation in the levels of xanthine oxidase and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) associated with significant decreases in the content of reduced glutathione, as well as decreases in xanthine dehydrogenase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase activities. Irradiated rats showed also significant decreases in creatine phosphokinase, glutamate dehydrogenase and glucose-6- phosphate dehydrogenase activities while lactate dehydrogenase were significantly increased. Total iron, total copper and total calcium levels significantly increased in the liver and skeletal muscles of irradiated rats group compared to control group. Wheat germ oil treated-irradiated rats 16 showed significantly less severe damage and remarkable improvement in all the measured parameters, compared to irradiated rats. It could be concluded that wheat germ oil by attenuating radiation-induced oxidative stress might play a role in maintaining liver and skeletal muscle integrity. |