Open AccessAcute oral dose of sodium nitrite induces redox imbalance, DNA damage, metabolic and histological changes in rat intestine
Author(s) -
Firoz Ahmad Ansari,
Shaikh Nisar Ali,
Hussain Arif,
Aijaz Ahmed Khan,
Riaz Mahmood
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0175196
Subject(s) - sodium nitrite , nitrite , chemistry , lipid peroxidation , oxidative stress , antioxidant , dna damage , biochemistry , toxicity , pharmacology , gastrointestinal tract , hydrogen peroxide , nitrate , dna , biology , food science , organic chemistry
Industrialization and unchecked use of nitrate/nitrite salts for various purposes has increased human exposure to high levels of sodium nitrite (NaNO 2 ) which can act as a pro-oxidant and pro-carcinogen. Oral exposure makes the gastrointestinal tract particularly susceptible to nitrite toxicity. In this work, the effect of administration of a single acute oral dose of NaNO 2 on rat intestine was studied. Animals were randomly divided into four groups and given single doses of 20, 40, 60 and 75 mg NaNO 2 /kg body weight. Untreated animals served as the control group. An NaNO 2 dose-dependent decline in the activities of brush border membrane enzymes, increase in lipid peroxidation, protein oxidation, hydrogen peroxide levels and decreased thiol content was observed in all treated groups. The activities of various metabolic and antioxidant defense enzymes were also altered. NaNO 2 induced a dose-dependent increase in DNA damage and DNA-protein crosslinking. Histopathological studies showed marked morphological damage in intestinal cells. The intestinal damage might be due to nitrite-induced oxidative stress, direct action of nitrite anion or chemical modification by reaction intermediates.