Protective activity of hesperidin and lipoic acid against sodium arsenite acute toxicity in mice.

The objective of the present work was to evaluate the toxic effects of sodium arsenite, As(III), in mice and the protective effect of 2 antioxidants, hesperidin and lipoic acid, against the observed As(III)-induced toxicity. In each study, mice were assigned to 1 of 4 groups: control, antioxidant, antioxidant + arsenite, and arsenite. Animals were first injected with the vehicle or 25 mg antioxidant/kg BW. After 30 minutes they received an injection of 10 mg arsenite/kg BW or 0.9% NaCl. Two hours after the first injection, the liver, kidney, and testis were collected for histological evaluation. Liver samples were also taken for quantification of arsenic. In mice exposed only to As(III), various histopathological effects were observed in the liver, kidneys, and testes. In mice pretreated with either hesperidin or lipoic acid, a reduction of histopathologic effects on the liver and kidneys was observed. No protective effects were observed in the testes for either of the 2 studied antioxidants. In conclusion, hesperidin and lipoic acid provided protective effects against As(III)-induced acute toxicity in the liver and kidneys of mice. These compounds may potentially play an important role in the protection of populations chronically exposed to arsenic.