Acrylamide reduces plasma antioxidant vitamin levels in rats due to increased oxidative damage/Acrilamida reduz os niveis de vitamina antioxidante no plasma em ratos devido ao aumento do dano oxidativo

Acrylamide is a potentially neurotoxic and carcinogenic chemical and naturally creates during the heating process of carbohydrate-rich foods, such as potato chips and breakfast cereals. Acrylamide might be ingested by people via consuming food that contains it. Therefore, we investigated the effect of acrylamide given orally to male and female rats on plasma retinoic acid and [alpha]-tocopherol and serum sialic acid and malondialdehyde levels. A total of 50 Wistar rats were used (25 female and 25 male, three-four weeks old). The rats of each sex were given 2 and 5 mg/kg/day acrylamide via drinking water for 90 days. At the end of the treatment, the animals were euthanized by cervical dislocation. Blood specimens were collected through cardiac puncture, and serum and plasma samples were analysed using the high-performance liquid chromatography technique with a Ultraviolet detector. The analysis of the plasma and serum samples revealed that serum sialic acid and malondialdehyde levels in both sexes given 5 mg/kg/day acrylamide were significantly increased, and the serum sialic acid levels were higher in female rats given 2 mg/kg/day acrylamide. The plasma retinoic acid and [alpha]-tocopherol levels significantly decreased in both sexes given only the highest dose. The results show that acrylamide causes an increase in oxidative stress and leads to a decrease in the levels of retinoic acid and [alpha]-tocopherol which play a role in the defense mechanism against this stress. A acrilamida é um químico potencialmente neurotóxico e carcinogênico, sendo naturalmente criada durante o processo de aquecimento de alimentos ricos em carboidratos, como batatas fritas e cereais matinais. Dado que o composto pode ser ingerido através do consumo de alimentos, o presente trabalho teve por objetivo investigar 0 seu efeito, quando administrado oralmente a ratos, medindo-se os níveis plasmáticos de ácido retinoico e [alpha]-tocoferol, bem como os níveis séricos de ácido siálico e malondialdeído A análise das amostras de plasma e soro revelou que os níveis de ácido siálico e malondialdeído, em ratos de ambos os sexos tratados com acrilamida de 5 mg/kg/dia, foram significativamente aumentados, ao passo que os níveis séricos de ácido siálico foram maiores em ratas tratadas com 2 mg/kg/dia de acrilamida. Já os níveis plasmáticos de ácido retinoico e [alpha]-tocoferol diminuíram significativamente em ratos de ambos os sexos, quando tratados com a dose mais elevada.