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Published on: July 13, 2014
Alcohol, gestation and breastfeeding: selenium as an antioxidant therapy
Ma Luisa Ojeda1, Fatima Nogales, Beatriz Vázquez
1Department of Physiology and Zoology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Seville University, Seville, Spain.
Insights
Selenium supplementation can protect rat pups from ethanol-induced oxidative stress during gestation and lactation. This dietary intervention helps restore selenium levels and antioxidant enzyme activity in the liver and serum.
Area of Science:
- Biochemistry
- Toxicology
- Nutritional Science
Background:
- Ethanol consumption during gestation and lactation can induce oxidative stress in developing offspring.
- Oxidative damage in pups may manifest as altered antioxidant enzyme activities and increased lipid and protein peroxidation.
- Selenium is an essential trace element with antioxidant properties, crucial for various enzymatic functions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between ethanol exposure, selenium levels, and oxidative stress markers in rat pups.
- To evaluate the protective effects of a selenium-supplemented diet on ethanol-induced liver damage in pups exposed in utero and during lactation.
Main Methods:
- Rat pups were divided into control, ethanol-exposed, ethanol-exposed with selenium supplementation, and control with selenium supplementation groups.
- Mothers received ethanol and/or a selenium-supplemented diet (0.5 ppm selenite) throughout gestation and lactation.
- Serum and liver selenium concentrations, antioxidant enzyme activities (GPx, GR, CAT, SOD), and markers of oxidative damage (TBARS, protein carbonyls) were measured.
Main Results:
- Ethanol exposure decreased liver selenium and GPx activity while increasing GR, CAT activity, and protein carbonyls.
- Serum selenium and GPx activity were higher in ethanol-exposed pups compared to controls.
- Selenium supplementation in ethanol-exposed mothers normalized scavenging enzyme activities and reduced protein peroxidation products in pups.
Conclusions:
- Selenium supplementation effectively mitigates ethanol-induced oxidative stress and liver damage in rat pups.
- Dietary selenium restores hepatic selenium levels, balances antioxidant enzyme activity, and reduces protein peroxidation.
- Selenium also enhances serum GPx activity and increases selenium availability to organs, supporting its protective role.
Aim:
The aim of this paper is to study the relationship between alcohol, selenium and oxidative stress in breastfeeding rat pups exposed to ethanol during gestation and lactation. We have also studied how a Se-supplemented diet among mothers could prevent different oxidative liver disorders in the pups.
Method:
Pups of 21 days were randomized into four groups: control group (C), alcohol group (A), alcohol selenium group (AS) and control selenium group (CS). Alcohol was supplied to their mothers for 13 weeks (induction, reproduction, gestation and lactation periods). The selenium-supplemented diet contained 0.5 ppm as selenite. We determined serum and liver selenium by graphite-furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. We measured antioxidant enzyme activities: glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD); and lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and protein carbonyl (PC) by a spectrophotometric method in the liver.
Results:
In the liver of pups, exposure to ethanol provoked a decrease in selenium and GPx activity and an increase in GR and CAT activity, as well as in carbonyl groups in protein. A pups had higher Se levels and GPx activity in serum than C pups. Administering Se with alcohol balances the activities of scavenging enzymes and reduces peroxidation protein products.
Conclusion:
These results suggest that selenium could be effective in neutralizing the damage of ethanol consumption during gestation and lactation in pups since it repairs selenium levels in liver as well as the activity of scavenging enzymes and peroxidation protein products. In serum, Se also recovers GPx activity and increases the levels of Se that are available to other organs.
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