title: Protective effects of phyllanthus emblica leaf extract on sodium arsenite-mediated adverse effects in mice.
abstract: Groundwater contamination of arsenic is the major cause of a serious health hazard in Bangladesh. No specific treatment is yet available to manage the large number of individuals exposed to arsenic. In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of Phyllanthus emblica (Indian gooseberry or Amla) leaf extract (PLE) on arsenic-mediated toxicity in experimental mice. Male Swiss albino mice were divided into three different groups (n=6/group). 'Control' mice received arsenic free water together with normal feed. Mice in the remaining two groups designated 'SA' and 'SA+PLE' were exposed to sodium arsenite (SA, 10 µg/g body weight/day) through drinking water in addition to receiving normal feed and PLE-supplemented feed, respectively. The weight gain of SA-exposed mice was decreased compared with the controls; however, this decrease in body weight gain was prevented when the feed was supplemented with PLE. A secondary effect of arsenic was enlargement of the liver, kidney and spleen of SA-group mice. Deposition of arsenic in those organs was demonstrated by ICP-MS. When PLE was supplemented in the feed the enlargement of the organs was minimized; however, the deposition of arsenic was not significantly reduced. These results indicated that PLE may not block arsenic deposition in tissue directly but rather may play a protective role to reduce arsenic-induced toxicity. Therefore, co-administration of PLE in arsenic-exposed animals might have a future therapeutic application for protecting against arsenic-mediated toxicity.
authors: Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors: Sadia
authors: S
authors: Sayed
authors: Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors: Nazmul
authors: N
authors: Ahsan
authors: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors: Masashi
authors: M
authors: Kato
authors: Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, Nagoya University Graduate School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan.
authors: Nobutaka
authors: N
authors: Ohgami
authors: Deaprtment of Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors: Abdur
authors: A
authors: Rashid
authors: Department of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh.
authors: Anwarul Azim
authors: AA
authors: Akhand
keywords: Phyllanthus emblica; antioxidant; growth retardation; mice; sodium arsenite