Combined action of lead and lithium on essential and nonessential elements in rat blood.

The effects of lead and lithium ingestion, separately and in combination, on the levels of K, Fe, Cu, Zn, Br, Rb, and As in rat blood were studied by the Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence technique. Two different doses of lead acetate, i.e., 50 and 100 mg/Kg body wt (low and high doses), were administered orally to rats, daily, for 1 and 4 months (short and long terms), whereas lithium in the form of lithium carbonate was given to rats in food (1.1 g/kg diet) for 1 and 4 mo separately, and also to rats receiving lower and higher doses of lead. K levels were found to be depressed significantly with lead treatment, whereas Fe contents were enhanced marginally after 1 mo of treatment when only the higher dose of lead was given. As, Br, and Rb contents were found to be elevated following lead treatment for short and long terms at both the dose levels. However, Cu contents were lowered, whereas Zn contents were raised only after long term treatment with lead. The Fe, Cu, As, and Br contents remained unaltered, whereas K, Rb, and Zn contents were reduced significantly when lithium was administered for short term. Moreover, Cu and Fe levels were also found to be reduced and Br contents were enhanced only after long term treatment. During the combined treatment with lead and lithium for short and long terms, the levels of K, As, and Rb were observed to decrease, whereas Fe contents were enhanced when estimated for both doses of lead. On the contrary, Cu levels were lowered only with the higher dose of lead acetate when given in combination with lithium for 1 and 4 mo. Br contents were only effectively decreased after 4 mo of treatment.