Investigating the protective effects of Elaeagnus angustifolia fruit extract on hematological parameters and damage of different tissues of male mice exposed to graphene oxide nanoparticles

Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the protective effects of Elaeagnus angustifolia fruit extract (EAFE) on hematology, biochemical parameters, liver enzymes and damage of different tissues of male mice exposed to graphene oxide nanoparticles (GO NPs). In this research, 48 mice were divided into six groups. Hematology parameters including red blood cells (RBC), white blood cells (WBC), hematocrit (Ht), and hemoglobin (Hb), biochemical parameters such as cholesterol, triglyceride, glucose, protein, albumin, creatinine and bilirubin, liver enzymes including aspartate aminotransferase (AST), alanine aminotransferase (ALT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and histological damage of liver, kidney, lung and testis of mice were investigated. The results show that GO NPs in both concentrations (30 and 60 mg/kg/bw) decrease the number of RBC compared to the control group (p < 0.05). EAFE has no effect on RBC count while EAFE in combination with both concentrations of 30 and 60 mg/kg/bw GO NPs significantly (p < 0.05) improves the RBC count of mice. Also, the results show that EAFE improves the number of WBC, Ht, Hb, and biochemical parameters of mice exposed to different concentrations of GO NPs. A series of morphological changes were observed in the RBC of rats exposed to 60 mg/kg/bw GO NPs, including Dacrocyte, Poikilocyte and Schistocyte, which EAFE can improve the morphological changes caused in RBC. A series of histological damages such as degeneration and dilatation in the central vein in liver tissue, thickening and inflammatory cell infiltration in the renal capsule, peribronchiolar inflammatory cell infiltration and congestion in peribronchiolar blood vessels in lung tissue and decrease in the height of the germinal epithelium and a decrease in the population of spermatozoid cells in spermatogenic cells were observed in the testis of mice exposed to 60 mg/kg/bw GO NPs. The results show that EAFE can improve the damage caused by GO NPs in the liver, kidney and lung tissues, while it has no effect on the damage in the mice testis tissue. Therefore, GO NPs cause damage in the blood and different tissues of mice, and the use of EAFE can be effective in improving these damages.