Protective effect of lycopene on renal damage caused by chlorinated mercury in rats

Objective To investigate protective effect of lycopene on renal damage induced by chlorinated mercury.Methods The rats were treated with 40 mg/kg lycopene by gavage and subcutaneously injected with 8.8μmol/kg chlorinated mercury once a day for two days.The contents of glutathione(GSH),malonodialdehyde(MDA),superoxide dismutase (SOD),glutathione peroxidase(GSH-Px)in renal cortical,blood urea nitrogen(BUN),urinary protein,alkaline phosphatase (ALP),β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase(NAG),lactate dehydrogenase(LDH),and Hg in urine were determined.Results In comparison with the high-dose chlorinated mercury group,nephrotoxicity in the group of lycopene pretreatment was reversed.The activities of NAG(103.73±21.79),LDH(113.19±23.74)and ALP(73.64±21.51 U/gcr)decreased significantly in urine of the rats.The content of the urinary protein decreased to 4.40±1.12 g/g Cr.and the content of GSH and MDA decreased to 45.33±5.90 and 1.03±0.12μmol/g pro.The activity of the SOD and GSH-Px increased to 39.94±6.04 and 85.62±12.68 U/mg pro in rats kidney.In addition,BUN in serum dropped to 15.93±9.36 mmol/L.All of differences were statistically significant(P<0.05 forall).Conclusion Lycopene have protective effect on Hg-induced toxicity.