L.M. Faddah, Nayira A. Abdel Baky, Nouf M. Al-Rasheed and Nawal M. Al-Rasheed
Concerns with the environmental and health risk of widely distributed, commonly used nanoparticles are increasing. As titanium dioxide nanoparticles (TiO2 NPs) are widely used commercially, their potential toxicity on human health has attracted particular attention. In this paper the in vivo acute toxicity of nano-sized TiO2 particles (80 nm) to adult rats was investigated before and after treatment with either idebenone or quercetin. Rat groups were orally administered at low (600 mg/kg bw) and a high dose (1 g/kg bw) n-TiO2, and the effect of these nanoparticles before and after treatment with either antioxidants was evaluated through measurement of serum tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-α, C-reactive protein, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), immunoglobulin G (IgG), interleukin 6 (Il-6), troponin, myoglobin, creatine kinase-MB (CK-MB) and nitrite levels. In addition, Ca and caspase-3 were measured in the hearts of these animals. DNA damage was also detected using Comet assay. The results showed that both doses of n-TiO2 caused an elevation in all serum and tissue parameters, which increased with increasing dose. Treatment with either idebenone or quercetin significantly reduced these elevated levels, the improvement being more pronounced with the lower dose. In conclusion, this study aims to give some insight on the toxicity and tissue distribution of orally administered TiO2 nanoparticles through measurement of an extended set of biochemical parameters in serum and heart tissue to gain information on potential pathological changes after administration of NP-TiO2. In addition, the protective role of idebenone and quercetin, as therapeutic agents to ameliorate these changes were evaluated.
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