Oral treatment with gallic acid and quercetin alleviates lindane-induced cardiotoxicity in rats.

Lindane is a man-made organochlorine pesticide used for agricultural purposes. Since lindane-induced toxicity is mediated by free radical generation, this investigation was carried out to study the protective effects of gallic acid and quercetin against lindane-induced cardiotoxicity. Lindane (100 mg·(kg body mass)(-1)) was administered orally to rats for 30 days. Histological analysis revealed pathological changes in the heart of lindane-treated rats. Biochemical analysis of the lindane-treated animals showed elevated activity for serum marker enzymes, lipid peroxidation (LPO), and membrane-bound Ca(2+) ATPase, with a concomitant decrease in the level of non-enzymic antioxidant (GSH), enzymic antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase (GPx), and glutathione-S-transferase (GST), and membrane-bound ATPases like Na(+)/K(+) ATPase and Mg(2+) ATPase in heart tissue. The results suggest that gallic acid and quercetin offer protection against lindane-induced myocardial damage, possibly through maintaining levels of endogenous antioxidant enzymes and membrane bound ATPase activity, as well as inhibiting lipid peroxidation.