Research - Toxicity
Some experts are worried about the chemicals and materials used to make feminine hygiene products.
From deodorant and perfume to cleaning products, the chemicals we spread, spritz and spray onto our bodies and around our homes are a growing area of concern for health scientists.
In particular, a group of chemicals sometimes referred to as “endocrine disrupters”—because they may mess with the hormones your body’s endocrine system regulates—have been linked to brain disorders, reproductive issues, obesity and cancer. (Recent reports from Europe pegged the healthcare costs of these chemicals somewhere north of $200 billion.)
Unfortunately, experts say tampons belong on this growing list of potentially hazardous personal care products.
Unlike something you swallow or rub on your skin, substances you place inside your vagina are not broken down by any of your body’s digestive or metabolic processes, says Ami Zota, an assistant professor of environmental health at George Washington University. Instead, tampon chemicals are absorbed by the vaginal mucosa, and from there are able to pass almost directly into your bloodstream.
Zota’s research shows fragranced feminine care products may raise a woman’s exposure to phthalates, a class of suspected endocrine disrupters some research has linked to developmental issues like lower IQs and higher rates of asthma.
Another group of chemicals are dioxins, which are byproducts of the bleaching process involved in the manufacture of tampons. Dioxins are also a big concern; the World Health Organization calls dioxins “highly toxic” and categorizes them as a “known human carcinogen.”
“The amount of dioxin in tampons is low today in comparison to when manufacturers used different bleaching methods,” says Philip Tierno, a professor of microbiology and pathology at New York University. “But it’s still present, and its effect is cumulative.” Even if your dioxin exposure from each tampon is very small, Tierno explains, a lifetime of tampon use could theoretically increase your risks for disease.
Tierno has spent decades looking into the health issues surrounding feminine care products—especially women’s risks for toxic shock syndrome (TSS). His research in the 1980s helped show that that certain super-absorbent tampons caused a number of bacteria-related TSS deaths.
Since then, manufacturers have cut out most of the chemicals linked to TSS. But Tierno says the condition persists, though it’s not as common as it used to be. Just how common toxic shock and other tampon-related risks are today is tough to judge because, Tierno says, there’s very little research into any of these health risks.
“There are many existing data gaps,” Zota says. Despite their wide use, tampons and feminine products have received “relatively little attention from the scientific community,” she adds.
Considering tens of millions of American women use these products on a monthly basis, what accounts for this lack of scientific scrutiny? “We have these societal stigmas into menstruation that stifle discussion and investigation,” says Christina Bobel, president of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research. “There’s a ‘just shut up and clean it up’ approach.”
Bobel mentions a Congressional bill—first introduced in the 1990s and named after Robin Danielson, a woman who died of toxic shock syndrome—that calls for more funding into feminine hygiene products. New York Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney has introduced the bill more than a dozen times over the past two decades, most recently in 2015. It has never passed, and the latest attempt is currently stuck in committee.
“We’re just looking for good information at this point, not action or regulation,” Bobel says.
Expert calls for more information also extend to manufacturer labels for tampons. Unlike cosmetics or other personal care products, tampons are considered “medical devices” by the FDA, says Sarada Tangirala of Women’s Voices for the Earth, a non-profit that works to limit people’s exposures to harmful chemicals.
“Because tampons are considered medical devices, there’s no labeling requirement for ingredients,” Tangirala says. “So for allergens or chemicals linked to cancer or other toxicity, even if you want to avoid them you can’t because you can’t see them.”
The FDA says the “available scientific evidence” does not support concerns about dioxin or other tampon ingredients. But that’s exactly the problem: there just isn’t much evidence available, Bobel says.
So how can women protect themselves? First, try to avoid all fragranced products, Tangirala and others advise. That goes for vaginal douches and powders as well as tampons. “We also recommending looking for products from companies who list their ingredients and are transparent about what goes into them,” she says.
“We need to start talking about this more,” Bobel adds. “And we need to insist that manufacturers explain what these products are made of, and to convince us that they’re safe.”
Source : Time.com
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Dig1 protects against locomotor and biochemical dysfunctions provoked by Roundup
- Steeve Gress,
- Claire Laurant,
- Nicolas Defarge,
- Carine Travert and
- Gilles-Éric Séralini
Abstract
Background Plant medicinal extracts may be claimed to prevent or cure chemical intoxications. Few of these are tested for their mechanisms of actions in vivo and for their cellular impacts. In 2011, we demonstrated that hepatic cell mortality induced by environmentally realistic levels of the widely used herbicide Roundup (R) in vitro can be almost entirely prevented by plant extracts called Dig1 (D, Digeodren).
Methods We tested the in vivo effects of D alone (1.2 ml/kg bw/d), but also prior to and during 8 days of R intoxication (at 135 mg/kg bw/d) in a total of 4 groups of 40 adult Sprague-Dawley male rats each. After treatments, horizontal and vertical locomotor activities of the animals were measured by use of actimeters. Brain, liver, kidneys, heart and testes were collected and weighted. Body weights as well as feed and water consumption were recorded. Proteins, creatinine, urea, phosphate, potassium, sodium, calcium, chloride ions, testosterone, estradiol, AST and ALT were measured in serum. In liver S9 fractions, GST, GGT, and CYP450 (1A2, 2C9, 2C19, 2D6, 3A4) were assessed.
Results D did not have any physiological or biochemical observable impact alone at 2 %. Out of a total of 29 measured parameters, 8 were significantly affected by R absorption within only 8 days. On these 8 parameters, only 2 were not restored by D (GGT activity and plasmatic phosphate), 5 were totally restored (horizontal and vertical locomotor activities, CYP2D6 activity, plasmatic Na + and estradiol), and the 6th was almost restored (plasmatic K+). The specificities of the toxic effects of R and of the therapeutic effects of D treatment were thus demonstrated, both at the behavioural and biochemical levels.
Conclusions D, without any side effect observable in these conditions, presented strong preventive and therapeutic properties in vivo after a short-term intoxication by the widely used pesticide Roundup.
(D is a mixture of diluted organic plant extracts obtained by Sevene Pharma (Monoblet, France) from independent saturating macerates, corresponding to 1/10 of dried plants in a water-alcohol solution of 45 to 55 %. These are afterwards diluted in 70 % alcohol, with Taraxacum officinalis at 100 ppm (part per million), as well as for Arctium lappa, and Berberis vulgaris at 10 ppm)
Source : BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Evidence of Coal-Fly-Ash Toxic Chemical Geoengineering in the Troposphere: Consequences for Public Health
J. Marvin Herndon
Abstract
The widespread, intentional and increasingly frequent chemical emplacement in the troposphere has gone unidentified and unremarked in the scientific literature for years. The author presents evidence that toxic coal combustion fly ash is the most likely aerosolized particulate sprayed by tanker-jets for geoengineering, weather-modification and climate-modification purposes and describes some of the multifold consequences on public health. Two methods are employed: (1) Comparison of 8 elements analyzed in rainwater, leached from aerosolized particulates, with corresponding elements leached into water from coal fly ash in published laboratory experiments, and (2) Comparison of 14 elements analyzed in dust collected outdoors on a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter with corresponding elements analyzed in un-leached coal fly ash material. The results show: (1) the assemblage of elements in rainwater and in the corresponding experimental leachate are essentially identical. At a 99% confidence interval, they have identical means (T-test) and identical variances (F-test); and (2) the assemblage of elements in the HEPA dust and in the corresponding average un-leached coal fly ash are likewise essentially identical. The consequences on public health are profound, including exposure to a variety of toxic heavy metals, radioactive elements, and neurologically-implicated chemically mobile aluminum released by body moisture in situ after inhalation or through transdermal induction.
Source : Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
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Neuroprotective effect of Tagara, an Ayurvedic drug against methyl mercury induced oxidative stress using rat brain mitochondrial fractions
Dhanoop Manikoth Ayyathan, Rajasekaran Chandrasekaran and Kalaivani Thiagarajan*
Abstract
Methyl mercury (MeHg), an important environmental toxicant is implicated in neurological disorders such as Hunter-Russell syndrome and Autism. Therefore, the present work is in search of new drugs that can alleviate MeHg toxicity. In this connection, Tagara, an ayurvedic drug is used for assessing its neuro protective effect against MeHg toxicity.
Methods
In the present study, we assessed the phytochemical contents of Tagara by colorimetric and HPLC analyses. The neuroprotective effect of Tagara on MeHg induced neurotoxicity was measured in terms of viability by MTT assay and oxidative stress in terms of catalase activity, glutathione and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance levels. Further, the chelating effect of Tagara towards MeHg was performed to identify the molecular mechanism. Statistical analysis was done by statistical package for social sciences (SPSS) version 16.0.
Results
The results demonstrated that Tagara contains significant amounts of phenols and flavonoids. Also, HPLC analysis of Tagara revealed the presence of essential oils such as hydroxyvalerenic and valerenic acids. Our results demonstrated that exposure of rat brain mitochondrial fractions to MeHg resulted in a dose dependent death in MTT assay and IC 50 value was found to be 10 μM. However, a 250 μg dose of Tagara effectively prevented MeHg induced mitochondrial damage. The oxidative stress caused by MeHg results in elevated levels of reactive oxygen species as evidenced by elevated TBARS (Thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances) levels and diminished catalase enzyme activity and glutathione content. However, Tagara at 250 μg concentration offsets these alterations caused by MeHg. Further, Tagara also diminished GSH oxidation caused by MeHg, confirming its chelating effect, one of the molecular mechanisms that triggers protection against oxidative damage.
Conclusion
Our results revealed that MeHg induced toxicity is predominantly mediated through oxidative stress mechanism and the propensity of Tagara to abolish such reactions. Hence, we propose that Tagara with a source of potential neuroprotectants may be a useful approach to alleviate MeHg associated neurotoxicity.
Source : BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Antioxidant effects of Dendropanax morbifera Léveille extract in the hippocampus of mercury-exposed rats
Woosuk Kim1†, Dae Won Kim2†, Dae Young Yoo1, Hyo Young Jung1, Jong Whi Kim1,Dong-Woo Kim3, Jung Hoon Choi4, Seung Myung Moon5, Yeo Sung Yoon1 and In Koo Hwang1
Abstract
Background
Dendropanax morbifera Léveille has been employed for the treatment of infectious diseases using folk medicine. In this study, we evaluated the antioxidant effects of a leaf extract of Dendropanax morbifera Léveille in the hippocampus of mercury-exposed rats.
Methods
Seven-week-old Sprague–Dawley rats received a daily intraperitoneal injection of 5 μg/kg dimethylmercury and/or oral Dendropanax morbifera Léveille leaf extract (100 mg/kg) for 4 weeks. Animals were sacrificed 2 h after the last dimethylmercury and/or leaf extract treatment. Mercury levels were measured in homogenates of hippocampal tissue, a brain region that is vulnerable to mercury toxicity. In addition, we measured reactive oxygen species production, lipid peroxidation levels, and antioxidant levels in these hippocampal homogenates.
Results
Treatment with Dendropanax morbifera Léveille leaf extract significantly reduced mercury levels in hippocampal homogenates and attenuated the dimethylmercury-induced increase in the production of reactive oxygen species and formation of malondialdehyde. In addition, this leaf extract treatment significantly reversed the dimethylmercury-induced reduction in the hippocampal activities of Cu, Zn-superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione-S-transferase.
Conclusion
These results suggest that a leaf extract of Dendropanax morbifera Léveille had strong antioxidant effects in the hippocampus of mercury-exposed rats.
Source : BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine
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Aluminium and its likely contribution to Alzheimer's disease
A world authority on the link between human exposure to aluminium in everyday life and its likely contribution to Alzheimer's disease, Professor Christopher Exley of Keele University, UK, says in a new report that it may be inevitable that aluminium plays some role in the disease.
He says the human brain is both a target and a sink for aluminium on entry into the body – "the presence of aluminium in the human brain should be a red flag alerting us all to the potential dangers of the aluminium age. We are all accumulating a known neurotoxin in our brain from our conception to our death. Why do we treat this inevitability with almost total complacency?"
Exley, Professor in Bioinorganic Chemistry, Aluminium and Silicon Research Group in The Birchall Centre, Lennard-Jones Laboratories at Keele University, writes in Frontiers in Neurology about the 'Aluminium Age' and its role in the 'contamination' of humans by aluminium.
He says a burgeoning body burden of aluminium is an inevitable consequence of modern living and this can be thought of as 'contamination', as the aluminium in our bodies is of no benefit to us it can only be benign or toxic.
Professor Exley says: "The biological availability of aluminium or the ease with which aluminium reacts with human biochemistry means that aluminium in the body is unlikely to be benign, though it may appear as such due to the inherent robustness of human physiology. The question is raised as to 'how do you know if you are suffering from chronic aluminium toxicity?' How do we know that Alzheimer's disease is not the manifestation of chronic aluminium toxicity in humans?
"At some point in time the accumulation of aluminium in the brain will achieve a toxic threshold and a specific neurone or area of the brain will stop coping with the presence of aluminium and will start reacting to its presence. If the same neurone or brain tissue is also suffering other insults, or another on-going degenerative condition, then the additional response to aluminium will exacerbate these effects. In this way aluminium may cause a particular condition to be more aggressive and perhaps to have an earlier onset - such occurrences have already been shown in Alzheimer's disease related to environmental and occupational exposure to aluminium."
Professor Exley argues that the accumulation of aluminium in the brain inevitably leads to it contributing negatively to brain physiology and therefore exacerbating on-going conditions such as Alzheimer's disease. He suggests that this is a testable hypothesis and offers a non-invasive method of the removal of aluminium from the body and the brain. He says the aluminium hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease will only be tested if we are able to lower the body and hence brain burden of aluminium and determine if such has any impact upon the incidence, onset or aggressiveness of Alzheimer's disease.
Professor Exley adds: "There are neither cures nor effective treatments for Alzheimer's disease. The role of aluminium in Alzheimer's disease can be prevented by reducing human exposure to aluminium and by removing aluminium from the body by non-invasive means. Why are we choosing to miss out on this opportunity? Surely the time has come to test the aluminium hypothesis of Alzheimer's disease once and for all?"
Source : Medical Xpress
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Salvia miltiorrhiza (Danshen) injection ameliorates iron overload-induced cardiac damage in mice
.Zhang JP1, Zhang YY, Zhang Y, Gao YG, Ma JJ, Wang N, Wang JY, Xie Y, Zhang FH, Chu L.
Abstract
The traditional Chinese medicinal herb Danshen (Salvia miltiorrhiza), first recorded in the "Shen Nong's Herbal Classic", has long been used to treat cardiovascular conditions, although the mechanism(s) underlying its effects remain unclear. Here, an iron dextran injection (50 mg · kg⁻¹ per day) was delivered intraperitoneally to establish a mouse model for investigating the ameliorative effects of Danshen injection (low dose at 3 g · kg⁻¹ per day or high dose at 6 g · kg⁻¹ per day) on iron overload-induced cardiac damage. The iron-chelating agent deferoxamine (100 mg · kg⁻¹ per day) was administered as a positive control. The main constituents of Danshen injection, salvianic acid A (danshensu), protocatechuic aldehyde, and salvianolic acid B, were quantified at concentrations of 2.15, 0.44, and 1.01 mg · mL⁻¹, respectively, using HPLC with UV detection. Danshen injection significantly lowered cardiac iron deposition and the concentration of the lipid oxidation product malondialdehyde, as well as improved cardiac superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase levels in iron-overloaded mice. Serum levels of creatine kinase, creatine kinase isoenzyme, and lactate dehydrogenase in the iron-overloaded mice were significantly elevated (up to ~ 160 %), whereas their activities were downregulated by Danshen injection by 25 ~ 35 % at the high dose and by ~ 20 % at the low dose. Morphological changes of cardiac tissue analyzed by hematoxylin and eosin staining indicated that lesions induced by iron overload could be ameliorated by Danshen injection dose-dependently. Altogether, these results illustrated that the protective effects of Danshen injection were at least in part due to decreased iron deposition and inhibition of lipid peroxidation.
Source : Planta Medica
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Salvia miltiorrhiza Injection Ameliorates Renal Damage Induced by Lead Exposure in Mice
Lei Li,1,2 Yuanyuan Zhang,1 Juanjuan Ma,1 Weichong Dong,3 Qiongtao Song,1 Jianping Zhang,1 and Li Chu1
1Department of Pharmacology, School of Basic Medicine, Hebei Medical University, 326 Xinshi South Road, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050091, China
2Department of Internal Medicine, Baoding First Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Yuhua Western Road, Baoding, Hebei 071000, China
3Department of Pharmaceutical Analysis, School of Pharmacy, Hebei Medical University, 361 Zhongshan East Road, Shijiazhuang, Hebei 050017, China
Abstract
Exposure to lead (Pb) can induce kidney injury and our recent studies have found that Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) injection, a traditional Chinese medicine, could protect against the organ injury induced by iron overload. This study was designed to investigate the protective effects of SM injection on nephrotoxicity induced by Pb acetate in mice and to elucidate the potential mechanism(s). Healthy male mice were randomly divided into four groups: control, Pb, low-dose Salvia miltiorrhiza (L-SM), and high-dose Salvia miltiorrhiza (H-SM). SM injection dose dependently reduced the Pb accumulation in the kidney, decreased kidney coefficients, and ameliorated renal structure and function from the morphology analysis. Meanwhile, SM administration downregulated serum levels of blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and creatinine (CR), decreased malondialdehyde (MAD) content, and increased activities of super oxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) in the kidney homogenate. Moreover, SM injection reduced the level of renal apoptosis by immunohistochemical staining analysis. Our findings implicate the therapeutic potential of SM injection for Pb-induced nephrotoxicity, which were at least partly due to the decrease of Pb accumulation, inhibition of lipid peroxidation, and suppression of renal apoptosis. These results provided preliminary experimental support for Danshen as a therapeutic drug for Pb poisoning diseases.
Source : The Scientific World Journal
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Protective effect of curcumin (Curcuma longa), against aluminium toxicity: Possible behavioral and biochemical alterations in rats.
Kumar A1, Dogra S, Prakash A.
Abstract
Aluminium is a potent neurotoxin and has been associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) causality for decades. Prolonged aluminium exposure induces oxidative stress and increases amyloid beta levels in vivo. Current treatment modalities for AD provide only symptomatic relief thus necessitating the development of new drugs with fewer side effects. The aim of the study was to demonstrate the protective effect of chronic curcumin administration against aluminium-induced cognitive dysfunction and oxidative damage in rats. Aluminium chloride (100 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered to rats daily for 6 weeks. Rats were concomitantly treated with curcumin (per se; 30 and 60 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for a period of 6 weeks. On the 21st and 42nd day of the study behavioral studies to evaluate memory (Morris water maze and elevated plus maze task paradigms) and locomotion (photoactometer) were done. The rats were sacrificed on 43rd day following the last behavioral test and various biochemical tests were performed to assess the extent of oxidative damage. Chronic aluminium chloride administration resulted in poor retention of memory in Morris water maze, elevated plus maze task paradigms and caused marked oxidative damage. It also caused a significant increase in the acetylcholinesterase activity and aluminium concentration in aluminium treated rats. Chronic administration of curcumin significantly improved memory retention in both tasks, attenuated oxidative damage, acetylcholinesterase activity and aluminium concentration in aluminium treated rats (P<0.05). Curcumin has neuroprotective effects against aluminium-induced cognitive dysfunction and oxidative damage.
Source : Journal Behav Brain Res.
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Relation between dietary acrylamide exposure and biomarkers of internal dose in Canadian teenagers
Benjamin Brisson1,2, Pierre Ayotte1,2, Louise Normandin1, Éric Gaudreau1, Jean- François Bienvenu1, Timothy R Fennell3, Carole Blanchet1, Denise Phaneuf1, Caroline Lapointe4, Yvette Bonvalot4, Michelle Gagné1, Marilène Courteau1, Rodney W Snyder3 and Michèle Bouchard5
- 1Institut national de santé publique du Québec, Québec, Canada
- 2Université Laval, Québec, Canada
- 3RTI International, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, USA
- 4Santé Canada, Longueuil, Québec, Canada
- 5Département de santé environnementale et santé au travail, Chaire d’analyse et de gestion des risques toxicologiques, Institut de recherche en santé publique, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
Acrylamide (AA) is a probable human carcinogen found in several foods. Little information is available regarding exposure of adolescents, a subgroup potentially consuming more AA-rich foods. We investigated the relationship between dietary AA intake and levels of biomarkers of exposure (urinary metabolites and hemoglobin adducts) in 195 non-smoking teenagers of Montreal Island aged 10–17 years. Dietary habits and personal characteristics were documented by questionnaire. AA and its metabolites were quantified in 12-h urine collections by LC-MS/MS. Hemoglobin adducts from 165 blood samples were also analyzed by LC-MS/MS. Most prevalent urinary metabolites were NACP and NACP-S, with respective geometric mean concentrations of 31.2 and 14.2 μmol/mol creatinine. Geometric mean concentrations of AAVal and GAVal (hemoglobin adducts of AA and glycidamide (GA) with N-terminal valine residues) were 45.4 and 45.6 pmol/g globin, respectively. AA intake during the 2 days before urine collection was a significant predictor of NACP+NACP-S urinary concentrations (P<0.0001). AA intakes during the month before blood collection (P<0.0001) and passive smoking (P<0.05) were associated with adduct levels. Levels of hemoglobin adducts were above biomonitoring equivalent values corresponding to a 1 × 10−4 excess cancer risk, which may indicate the need to reduce AA exposure in the population.
Source : Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology
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What is Acrylamide and How is it Involved with Food and Health (Click) - The Worlds Healthiest Foods - whfoods.com
Your highest-risk foods for acrylamide exposure fall into three basic categories: (1) fried, processed foods like potato chips and french fries; (2) baked snack foods containing wheat and sugar, including cookies and crackers; and (3) processed foods involving toasted grains, including toasted wheat cereals, and roasted grain-based coffee substitutes. Roasted cocoa beans (and the chocolate made from them), some dehydrated soup mixes, and some canned black pitted olives can also fall into this higher-risk category in terms of acrylamide exposure.
Seafood consumption and blood mercury concentrations in adults aged >=20 y, 2007-2010.
Nielsen SJ, Kit BK, Aoki Y, Ogden CL
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Seafood is part of a healthy diet, but seafood can also contain methyl mercury-a neurotoxin.
OBJECTIVE: The objective was to describe seafood consumption in US adults and to explore the relation between seafood consumption and blood mercury.
DESIGN: Seafood consumption, obtained from a food-frequency questionnaire, and blood mercury data were available for 10,673 adults who participated in the 2007-2010 NHANES-a cross-sectional nationally representative sample of the US population. Seafood consumption was categorized by type (fish or shellfish) and by frequency of consumption (0, 1-2, 3-4, or ≥5 times/mo). Linear trends in geometric mean blood mercury concentrations by frequency of seafood consumption were tested. Logistic regression analyses examined the odds of blood mercury concentrations ≥5.8 μg/L (as identified by the National Research Council) based on frequency of the specific type of seafood consumed (included in the model as a continuous variables) adjusted for sex, age, and race/Hispanic origin.
RESULTS: In 2007-2010, 83.0% ± 0.7% (±SE) of adults consumed seafood in the preceding month. In adults consuming seafood, the blood mercury concentration increased as the frequency of seafood consumption increased (P < 0.001). In 2007-2010, 4.6% ± 0.39% of adults had blood mercury concentrations ≥5.8 μg/L. Results of the logistic regression on blood mercury concentrations ≥5.8 μg/L showed no association with shrimp (P = 0.21) or crab (P = 0.48) consumption and a highly significant positive association with consumption of high-mercury fish (adjusted OR per unit monthly consumption: 4.58; 95% CI: 2.44, 8.62; P < 0.001), tuna (adjusted OR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.10, 1.17; P < 0.001), salmon (adjusted OR: 1.14; 95% CI: 1.09, 1.20; P < 0.001), and other seafood (adjusted OR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.15; P < 0.001).
CONCLUSION: Most US adults consume seafood, and the blood mercury concentration is associated with the consumption of tuna, salmon, high-mercury fish, and other seafood.
Source : American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
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Propolis alleviates aluminium-induced lipid peroxidation and biochemical parameters in male rats
Al-Sayeda A. Newairya, Afrah F. Salamab, Hend M. Hussiena, Mokhtar I. Yousefc, ,
- a Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Science, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
- b Chemistry Department, Biochemistry Section, Faculty of Science, Tanta University, Egypt
- c Department of Home Economic, Faculty of Specific Education, Alexandria University, 14 Mohamed Amin Shohaib Street, Moustafa Kamel, P.O. Box Roushdi, Alexandria 21529, Egypt
Abstract
Aluminium is present in many manufactured foods and medicines and is also added to drinking water during purification purposes. Therefore, the present experiment was undertaken to determine the effectiveness of propolis in alleviating the toxicity of aluminium chloride (AlCl3) on biochemical parameters, antioxidant enzymes and lipid peroxidation of male Wistar Albino rats. Animals were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: control; 34 mg AlCl3/kg bw; 50 mg propolis/kg bw; AlCl3 (34 mg/kg bw) plus propolis (50 mg/kg bw), respectively. Rats were orally administered their respective doses daily for 70 days. The levels of thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was increased, and the activities of glutathione S-transferase, superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase were decreased in liver, kidney and brain of rats treated with AlCl3. While, TBARS was decreased and the antioxidant enzymes were increased in rats treated with propolis alone. Plasma transaminases, lactate dehydrogenase, glucose, urea, creatinine, bilirubin, total lipid, cholesterol, triglyceride and LDL-c were increased, while total protein, albumin and high HDL-c were decreased due to AlCl3 administration. The presence of propolis with AlCl3 alleviated its toxic effects in rats treated with AlCl3. It can be concluded that propolis has beneficial influences and could be able to antagonize AlCl3 toxicity.
Source : Food and Chemical Toxicity
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