Abstract

Backgrounds: Aluminum oxide nanoparticles are well-known for inducing hepato-renal and testicular damage. By virtue of its antioxidant properties, lycopene has been demonstrated to offer some protection against various illnesses. The purpose of this study was to assess lycopene's (LYC) presumed protective impact against aluminum oxide nanoparticles' (Al2O3NPS) toxicity in male albino rats.
Methods: Twenty-four mature male albino rats were split into four equal groups (6 rats each) as follows: Group I served as a control group (no supplements), Group II was given 50 mg/kg body weight (BW) of Al2O3NPS, Group III was administrated with LYC ( 4 mg/kg of body weight), and Group IV was given both Al2O3NPS and LYC at the same prior dosages. For eight weeks, the treatment regimens were administered orally by gastric gavage three times/ week.
Results: The most prominent hematological alteration was lymphocytosis, which was recorded in all of the treated groups. Also, significant elevations in serum hepatic enzymes activities, urea, creatinine and cystatin-C were recorded in Al2O3NPS-intoxicated group. Also, intoxication with Al2O3NPS resulted in disturbances in serum proteinogram and lipid profile. Furthermore, serum levels of some pro-inflammatory cytokines as interleukin (IL-) 1β and IL-6, in addition to oxidative stress biomarker as malondialdehyde (MDA) were elevated with a marked depletion in serum level of some antioxidant biomarkers as reduced glutathione (GSH) and catalase (CAT) activity. Additionally, serum testosterone level decrement was significant in intoxicated group (Group I). These biochemical changes were associated histopathologically with many hepatic, renal and testicular lesions, which could be concluded in cellular degeneration, bleeding and inflammatory cells infiltration in different evaluated tissues. Administration of LYC partially ameliorated the abovementioned haemato-biochemical alteration induced by Al2O3NPS and improved histo-architectures of the affected tissues.

Conclusion:
These findings could confirm the toxic effect of Al2O3NPS on different body organs and the abrogative role of LYC in mitigation of the associated haemato-biochemical changes as well as the histopathological alterations; this might be owed to its potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.

Key words: Aluminum oxide nanoparticles, Lycopene, Oxidative stress, Pro-inflammatory cytokines, Rats, Pathology.