Drinking Water and Its Effects on the Accumulation of Strontium [Sr], Calcium [Ca], and Several Other Elements in the Femur Bone of Wistar Kyoto Rats

Among the heavy metals lead is the most ubiquitous in the environment, given its widespread use by humans. Evidence indicates that there is a link between lead and high blood pressure. In fact, many studies link lead to high blood pressure while others posit opposite views. One of the purposes of this study is to determine if there is a link between lead and high blood pressure. It is hypothesized that lead at high concentrations may alter normal function and responses of blood vessels by mimicking hypertension. To test the hypothesis, the investigator looked at the effect of lead in drinking water on Wistar Kyoto rats. Furthermore lead of different concentrations was given to the normative Wistar Kyoto rats, and their blood pressure reading was monitored. It was concluded that lead mimicked high blood pressure, as shown by the linear graph of lead versus blood pressure. To investigate the effects of lead on blood pressure, at the end of 28 weeks, changes in the systolic blood pressure were checked against lead in the drinking water of the rats. It was revealed that as the lead in drinking water was doubled, the systolic blood pressure continued to rise linearly, as shown in figure 4.5. This latter observation did suggest that a high concentration of lead in the drinking water of the rat's compromised vascular functions and responses due to compensatory vasodilatation.;This researcher also hypothesized that lead has an accumulative effect on elements such as strontium, calcium, iron, zinc, and phosphorus. To investigate how the chronic intake of lead would affect the accumulation of strontium and the other elements, normative Wistar Kyoto rats were fed lead in drinking water for 28 weeks. The lead content of the femur bones was analyzed both by proton induced x-ray emission technique (PIXE) and by atomic absorption spectrometry. The concentration dependent study revealed that the animals were tolerant to the lead in drinking water, even the groups with higher concentration of lead. Investigation of the effect of lead on strontium and other elements revealed that lead had significant effect on strontium as the concentration went down significantly in a biphasic manner. Thus it is suggested that lead competes with strontium for binding sites; and at higher concentrations, lead displaces strontium, as determined in the findings of this study. Lead also decreased magnesium absorption when compared to the control, suggesting that lead may have an inhibitory effect on magnesium intake. Lead had a mix effect on iron and phosphorus.