Melatonin may protect the gastrointestinal system from cadmium chloride toxicity during pregnancy

Cadmium is absorbed into the body through food consumption. Since food intake increases during pregnancy, Cadmium consumption from food also increases. Melatonin, secreted by the pineal gland, is an antioxidant hormone with therapeutic effects. This research aims to reveal how Cadmium Chloride (CdCl₂) affects antioxidant capacity by histological and biochemical methods and to test the effect of Melatonin in treating CdCl₂-induced lesions in pregnant mice's stomach and small intestine. Control, CdCl₂, Melatonin, and CdCl₂ + Melatonin groups were created using pregnant mice (n: 6). CdCl₂ (2 mg/kg/bw) and Melatonin (3 mg/kg/bw) were administered. The investigation was terminated after birth. Stomach and small intestine tissues were pull out and fixed in 10% formaldehyde. They were routinely histologically processed and dyed via Hematoxylin-Eosin. The tissues were appraised under light and electron microscopy, and biochemical analyses were carried out. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was applied to compare the groups, and LSD tests were used for pairwise comparisons (P < 0.05). While a reduction in body weight was noted in CdCl₂ group (P: 0.01), no decrease was observed in the Melatonin group (P: 0.02). CdCl₂ caused pathologies such as degeneration of gland cells, vacuole formation, and hemorrhage in the stomach. Although CdCl₂ caused rupture and breakage of the villi in the intestine, these degenerations were minimal in CdCl₂ + Melatonin group. CdCl₂ also caused a significant decrease in antioxidant enzyme levels; however, the enzyme levels approached normal values in CdCl₂ + Melatonin group. Melatonin may be an effective therapeutic agent for gastrointestinal organs lesions caused by increased CdCl₂ during pregnancy.