Özet:

Cadmium (Cd) is a toxicant metal derived from horticultural and industrial sources. In recent work, we reported that olive leaf extract (Olea europaea L.) (OLE) restores liver functions from cadmium induced liver injury. Rats were pretreated with OLE and consecutively injected with CdCl2 (6.5 mg/kg) for 5 days. To evaluate liver function, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotrans-ferase (AST) and γ-glutamyl transferase (GGT) were detected in the serum, total antioxidant (TAS) and total oxidative stress (TOS) statuses were established in the liver and expression of caspase 3 were determined for the antioxidative and anti‐apoptotic effects of OLE. Tissue sections were also evaluated histopathologically. The results demonstrated that Cd exposure could induce release of reactive oxygen species generation, increase levels of TOS and decrease levels of TAS, upregulate mRNA levels of Caspase-3, and induce cell apoptosis. The extracts also prevented the Cd induced increase in AST and GGT levels. Furthermore, the changes of these indicators in OLE treated group was remarkable. The results indicated that exposure to Cd could induce oxidative stress and apoptosis.

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