The Ameliorative Effect Of The Taurine On The Lead Exposed Rats

Lead (Pb), a non-essential trace metal is known as a toxic environmental pollutant which can threat the healthy development of many species. Lead may induce a wide range of physiological, biochemical and behavioral dysfunctions in experimental animals and humans, including those in central nervous system, hemopoictic system, immunologic system, cardiovascular system, liver, kidney, brain and reproductive systems. Liver, kidney and brain have been considered as the target organs for the toxic effect of lead.. Taurine(Tau) is a β-amino acid. It is also a kind of sulfur-bearing amino acid found in all tissues of most animal species and the most abundant free amino acid in many tissues. Tau has been shown to participate in the cellular mechanisms involved in the protection against the oxidative damage, especially in the inhibition of the lipid peroxidation. The aim of the present work is to study the antioxidant effect of Tau on lead-exposed rats by detecting the level of lead, Malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione(GSH) of the blood, the activities of superoxide(SOD), and glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px) in spleen, liver, kidney and brain.The rats were randomly divided into five groups including the health control group(I),the lead group(II),the Pb+Tau 100mg·kg-1·d-1group (III), the Pb+Tau 400mg·kg-1·d-1group (IV), the Pb+Tau 800mg·kg-1·d-1group (V). The results indicate the following: (1)Lead concentrations in blood of Group III and Group IV were significantly lower than that of Group II (P<0.05).Hb content and RBC of Group III and Group IV were significantly higher than that of Group II (P<0.01) (2)The time of seeking anchorage of Group IV and Group V was significantly lower than that of Group II (P<0.05). (3)The MDA content of spleen, liver, kidney and brain from the rats of Group IV and Group V was significantly lower than that of Group II (P<0.01 or P<0.05). (4)The SOD activity of spleen, liver, and brain of Group IV was significantly increased compared with that of Group II (P<0.01 or P<0.05), while the SOD activity of liver, kidney and brain Group V was significantly increased compared with that of the group II (P<0.01 or P<0.05). (5) The GSH content of spleen and kidney of Group IV was significantly lower than that of Group II (P<0.05); the GSH content of liver and kidney of Group V was significantly lower than that of Group II (P<0.05), but the GSH content of brain of Group V was significantly higher than that of Group II (P<0.05). (6)The GSH-Px activity of spleen, liver and kidney of Group IV was significantly higher than that of Group II (P<0.01 or P<0.05), while the GSH-Px activity of liver, kidney and brain of Group V was significantly increased compared with that of Group II (P<0.01 or P<0.05). (7)The NOS activity of brain of Group IV and Group V was significantly higher than that of Group II (P<0.01 or P<0.05). The results suggest that Tau is antagonistic to the impairment of lipid peroxidation induced by lead and may play a protective role on lead poisoned rats.