Abstract

Humans are exposed to a number of toxic elements in the environment. Lead, widely used in industry, is a great environmental health problem of both humans and animals. Effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation have been postulated to be major contributors to lead-exposure related disease. The aim of the study was to investigate the effect of ginger on oxidative stress in rats exposed to lead. Ginger was administered orally (160 mg/kg b.w.). After 50 days, significant increases in sulfhemoglobin percent (SHb%), methemoglobin percent (metHb%), superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration and hemolysis test were observed in lead exposed rats compared to control group (P < 0.05). Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity significantly decreased in lead compared to control group (P < 0.001), while GSH concentration showed insignificant change. Ginger treatment of lead exposed rats significantly lowered SHb%, metHb%, carboxyhemoglobin percent (HbCO%), while it significantly increased oxyhemoglobin percent (HbO₂%) compared to lead alone group (P < 0.05). Also ginger treatment significantly increased GPx activity of lead exposed rats compared to lead alone group (P < 0.05). Ginger treatment of lead exposed rats lowered MDA concentration and hemolysis percent by 21.21 and 29.38, respectively. The findings of this study suggest that ginger elevated the GPx activity perturbed by exposure to lead and had ameliorative effect on lipid peroxidation and erythrocytes hemolysis. Moreover, the results of multi-component spectrophotometric analysis suggest that ginger treatment of lead exposed rats lowered the levels of inactive hemoglobins and elevated the level of active HbO₂. Ginger may exert its protective actions against lead-induced hematotoxicity in rats possibly through its antioxidant mechanisms and may have future therapeutic relevance.

Key words: Lead, ginger, oxidative stress, erythrocytes, Hb-derivatives, rats.