Acrylamide reduces plasma antioxidant vitamin levels in rats due to increased oxidative damage

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objective 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 acrylamidegiven orally to male and female rats on plasma retinoic acid and α-tocopherol and serum sialic acid and malondialdehyde levels. Method 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 5mg/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. Results The analysis of the plasma and serum samples revealed that serum sialic acid and malondialdehyde levels in both sexes given 5mg/kg/day acrylamide were significantly increased, and the serum sialic acid levels were higher in female rats given 2mg/kg/day acrylamide. The plasma retinoic acid and α-tocopherol levels significantly decreased in both sexes given only the highest dose. Conclusion The results show that acrylamide causes an increase in oxidative stress and leads to a decrease in the levels of retinoic acid and α-tocopherol which play a role in the defense mechanism against this stress.