Effects of selenium and mercury on the enzymatic activities and lipid peroxidation in brain, liver, and blood of rats

Recent studies have reported on the toxicity and related oxidative stress of selenium and mercury. The present study compares the effects of Se as sodium selenite (Na2SeO3) and Hg as mercuric chloride (HgCl2) separately and in combination. Rats received repeated oral doses of Se (0.5 micromol/ml), Hg (0.5 micromol/ml), or Se in combination with Hg (0.5 micromol/ml of each) for 5 consecutive days. Rat serum, brain and liver samples were collected for biochemical assays. The following biochemical alterations occurred in response to Hg treatment: protein content (brain and liver), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (brain and serum), acid and alkaline (AcP and AlP) phosphatases (plasma and liver) and glutathione S-transferase (GST) (plasma and liver) activities were significantly (P<0.05) decreased, while lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) (plasma, brain and liver), aspartate and alanine aminotransferase (AST, ALT) (serum and liver) activities were significantly increased. Thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) was significantly increased in brain and liver. Effect of Se alone included decreased AcP, AlP and GST (serum and liver) activities. However, LDH (serum, brain and liver) and AST (liver) and TBARS (brain and liver) increased. Selenium in combination with Hg partially or totally alleviated the toxic effects of Hg on different studied enzymes. It is concluded that Se could be able to antagonize the toxic effects of mercury.