Protection of probiotic Bacillus coagulans and Lactobacillus plantarum against cadmium toxicity in rats

Cadmium (Cd) is an environmental pollutant that can cause harmful effects on human and animal health due to its transfer to the food chain. Our previous work showed that probiotic candidates of Bacillus coagulans and Lactobacillus plantarum can relieve mercury oral harmful effects in rats. Hence, this follow-up study investigated the effect of these two bacteria on chronic cadmium toxicity. Forty-eight Wistar rats have been studied for 48 days, so that cadmium receiving groups received 100 μg/mL of cadmium chloride per day through gavage. Daily administration of 1 × 10 9 CFU/spore/mL of B. coagulans and L. plantarum bacteria increased cadmium excretion through feces and reduced the metal absorption in liver and kidney tissues. The probiotic treatment has led to the revival of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GPx) as oxidative stress parameters in rats that have been significantly reduced due to cadmium exposure. Both probiotics also reduced renal and hepatic damage bio-markers including urea, creatinine, bilirubin, alanine transaminase (ALT), and aspartate transaminase (AST) in rats’’ blood. The results summarize the potential protective effects of probiotic bacteria B. coagulans and L. plantarum against cadmium toxicity.