Lukačínová A.,

The aim of the study was to assess the age dependence on some physiological and serum chemistry parameters of male Wistar rats for the estimation of reference values in controlled environment. We are presenting values obtained from a large number of animals such as survival, average life span, body mass, food and water intake, serum chemistry parameters as total protein, albumin, transferrin and ferritin in serum. One part of this work compares the relationship between rat and human age. The maximal life span of our rats was determined to be about 4.4 years. The average life span was 3.75 years. The body weight quickly rose to the 85th week of life and then remained in the range of about 640-660 g up to the 163rd week when it began to decline. Food intake rose from the beginning to the maximum of about 39 g in the 33rd week and then decreased to about 20 g in the 163rd week. The water intake had a similar dynamics (about 43 mL in the 33rd week and 33 mL in the 163rd week). Levels of total protein in serum increased with age, in contrast, albumin levels decreased. Transferrin and ferritin decreased to approximately the 160th week of life and then increased.

The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the effects of multigenerational (P, F1 and F2) exposure to low doses of lead, mercury and cadmium dissolved in tap water on the reproductive potency of Wistar rats and the physical health of their progeny. The animals were divided into 4 groups - control (C) and 3 groups intoxicated by metals (Pb, 100 μM; Hg, 1 μM; Cd, 20 μM, respectively). Females gave births from the 13th to the 78th week of experiment. Parameters of reprotoxicity such as number of litters, total number of neonates (assigned in the birth day), and number of weanlings (28th day after birth) were measured in 13-week intervals. Our data show an increase of most reproductive parameters in parental generation of rats exposed to lead and mercury and a decrease of reproductive parameters of exposed animals in subsequent F1 and F2 generations. Exposure to cadmium had no significant effect on the reproductive parameters in comparison with the control group.

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The effects of fl avonoids quercetin (Q) and chrysin (Ch) were evaluated in rats with alloxan-induced diabetes mellitus. A single dose of 60 mg alloxan (A) per kg body weight was injected to rats fasting for at least 16 h. Q or Ch in amounts of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight were administered orally to the control non-treated and A treated rats (10 rats per group) for 3 days prior and 7 days after A injection. Glycaemia, glycosuria, total antioxidant status (TAS) and activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) were determined. Both Q and Ch prevented serum glucose elevation due to A, but the effect of Ch was weaker, particularly at the higher dose. The benefi cial effects of fl avonoids on glycosuria and antioxidant status differed between Q and Ch, being generally greater in case of Q, and depended on the dose. It is suggested that the protective effect of fl avonoids under study is partly related to their antioxidative/chelatory properties and partly to the alteration of renal glucose absorption.

The present study was conducted to investigate the impact of carbamate insecticide - bendiocarb on the testicular structure of adult rabbits. Bendiocarb was perorally administered daily for 10 and 30 days, at a dose 5 mg/kg of body weight. After the histological sampling the tissues were investigated and compared with control. After the bendiocarb administration the absolute and relative testicular weight decreased significantly (P < 0.001) in both time periods. The testicular parenchyma showed structural changes such the sloughing of developing sex cells, occurrence of vacuoles within Sertoli cells and inside various spermatogenic cells. The interstitial Leydig cells were smaller than their control counterpart and possessed shrivelled nuclei and strongly vacuolar dark cytoplasm. The rate of changes was directly proportional on duration of the experiment. The ultrastructural examination proved presence of various cellular defects across the germinal epithelium as well as within the interstitial Leydig cells in both experimental periods. Morphometric analysis manifested decrease in diameters of seminiferous tubules, increase of the diameters of the tubular lumina due to reduction of height of the seminiferous epithelium. Results of this study show distinct negative effects of bendiocarb on structure of rabbit testes.

The aim of the study was to assess the effects of exposure to low doses of cadmium dissolved in drinking water (at a concentration 200 times higher than the maximum permissible dose) on selected parameters of carbohydrate metabolism in 20 Wistar rats. Animals were divided into two groups – control and experimental groups exposed to low doses of cadmium chloride in concentration 20 μM of drinking water. We studied the biochemical parameters, as glucose, hemoglobin, glycated hemoglobin, lactate dehydrogenase and amylase in blood of rats. Glucose, hemoglobin, glycated hemoglobin and amylase levels increased, lactate dehydrogenase was no changed of rats exposed to cadmium. Good indicators of chronic intoxication by cadmium are elevated levels of glucose, hemoglobin and mainly glycated hemoglobin in blood. The evaluation results should be taken into account not only the data at the end of the experiment but for the entire duration of trials (i.e., more time steps), which results largely make objective.

doi:10.5219/231

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