Effects of methionine and choline on trace elements in tissues of lead-exposed rats

Objective To explore the effects of methionine and choline on contents of microelement in tissues of rats.Methods Sixty weanling SD ratswere randomly divided into five groups:normal control group,lead control group,methio nine and choline control group,and two lead plus different dose of methionine and choline groups.The rats were given lead (drinking water)and methionine choline(intragastric administration),respectively.At the end of expermient,the brain,kidney,liver,and bone of the rats were collected.Inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrophotometry(ICP-AES) was adopted to determine the contents of lead(Pb) and other 5 kinds of metal elements(Zn,Cu,Fe,Mn,and Ca)in the brain,kidney,liver,and bone.Results After lead exposure,the lead contents in the brain,liverk,idney,and bone increased significantly(0.631±0.188,1.178±0.354,12.669±2.682,165.621±12.015 μg/g).The lead contents in liver of two different methionine and choline dose groupswere reduced to 0.955±0.299,0.637±0.164 μg/g.The lead contents in kid ney and bone of high methionine and choline group were reduced to 9.789±1.743,132.742±17.743 μg/g,significantly lower than that of lead control group(P < 0.01).The contents of Fe and Cu in the brain and Fe in the liver of lead control group were higher than those of normal control group and decreased to normal level of control group after methionine and choline treamtent.Conclusion Methionine and cholinetreamtent reduce the level of lead in the liver,kidney and bone in lead-exposed rats while the contents of Cu,Fe,Mn,and Zn in the tissues are nosignificant change.