Paraquat (PQ), an effective and widely used herbicide, has been proven to be safe when appropriately applied to eliminate weeds. However, PQ poisoning is an extremely frustrating clinical condition with a high mortality and with a lack of effective treatments in humans. PQ is known to induce injury via a redox cyclic reaction. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of aqueous extract Matricaria chamomilla.L (M. chamomilla) against PQ-induced liver injury in association with its antioxidant activity.The male rats were treated by gastric gavage daily with PQ (5 mg/kg/day) and M. chamomilla (50 mg/kg/day) were administered alone or in combination for 7 days. After treatments, total antioxidant capacity (TAC), total thiol molecules (TTG) levels and catalase (CAT) activity in liver tissue were measured. At the end of the experiment, plasma and lung tissue of the animals was separated. The activity of enzymatic scavengers such as CAT, TAC and TTG were measured in liver homogenate.In this sample, the TAC and TTG were lower in the PQ group as compared with control group. Co-administration of PQ with M. chamomilla extract increased TAC and TTG in liver tissue as compared with PQ group.In conclusion, M. chamomilla as natural antioxidant may be considered beneficial for the protection oxidative liver injury in PQ poisoning.
Chemical materials are environmental contaminants, are extensively used in laboratories, and may cause various forms of health hazards in laboratory workers. Therefore, this toxicity most likely is a result of the oxidative metabolism of chemical to reactive products. As green tea (GT) possesses antioxidant effects, the objective of this study was to examine any amelioration oxidative stress in chemical laboratory workers drinking one cup (3 g/300 ml water) of freshly prepared tea once daily. Baseline characteristics including age, sex, smoking, fruit consumption, and duration of exposure were recorded via questionnaire to the subjects. Saliva level oxidative stress parameters such as total antioxidant capacity (TAC), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), catalase (CAT), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were estimated before and after consumption of GT in these workers. Treatment of subjects with GT induced a significant reduction in saliva GPx activity (406.61 ± 22.07 vs. 238.96 ± 16.26 U/l p = 0.001) and induction in TAC (0.46 ± 0.029 μmol/ml vs. 0.56 ± 0.031, p = 0.016). No statistically significant alteration was found for saliva SOD (0.080 ± 0.0019 vs. 0.079 ± 0.0014, p > 0.05) and CAT (20.36 ± 0.69 vs. 19.78 ± 0.71, p > 0.05) after 28 days treatment by GT. These results demonstrate that drinking GT during chemical exposure can reduce several parameters indicative of oxidative stress. In conclusion, using GT as a dietary supplement can be a rational protocol to control source of hazards in chemical laboratory workers.
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