The Effect of Eleutherococcus Senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Maxim. Extract on Cadmium-Induced Toxicity in Mice
Alina Smalinskiene1, Nijole Savickiene2, Vaiva Lesauskaite3, Virgilijus Zitkevicius4, Leonid Ivanov5, Hiliaras Rodovicius6 and Ilona Sadauskiene7
1. Institute of Cardiology, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
2. Department of Pharmacognosy, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
3. Institute of Cardiology, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
4. Department of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
5. Institute for Biomedical Research, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas. Lithuania
6. Department of Drugs Chemistry, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
7. Institute for Biomedical Research, Lithuania University of Health Sciences, Kaunas. Lithuania
(Received: September 11, 2010; Accepted: August 9, 2011)
ABSTRACT
The present study analyzed the effects of Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Maxim. ethanol extract on long-term (6-week) intoxication induced by intraperitoneal injections of 0.05 LD50 of cadmium chloride solution. The experiments were performed with white laboratory mice. Two groups of mice were injected with ethanol extract of E. senticosus: 0.05 LD50 and 0.10 LD50. Cadmium concentrations were investigated in blood, kidney, liver, spleen, heart, and skeletal muscle by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Long-term injections of Eleutherococcus senticosus (Rupr. et Maxim.) Maxim. ethanol extract combined with CdCl2 led to significant increase of cadmium concentrations in the spleen, skeletal muscle, blood, kidney and liver of experimental mice. E. senticosus also decreased the mitotic activity of liver cells induced by cadmium.
Key words: cadmium, Eleutherococcus senticosus, mitotic index, atomic absorption spectroscopy