Fluoride Action Network

Abstract

SUMMARY: Sodium fluoride (NaF) and arsenic trioxide (As2O3), singly or combined, at doses of 5 and 0.5 mg/kg body weight, respectively, were administered orally to mice for 30 days to investigate their biochemical effects on the brain (cerebral hemisphere). The effects of withdrawal of the treatment and ingestion of vitamin C, vitamin E, and calcium (as phosphate) were also investigated. During treatment, levels of dehydroascorbic acid and lipid peroxides increased, but the activities of the antioxidant enzymes superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase, as well as the levels of glutathione, total ascorbic acid, and reduced ascorbic acid decreased. The data suggest that metabolic changes associated with the treatments could be the result of free radical toxicity rendering the brain more susceptible to injury. Withdrawal of the NaF + As2O3 treatment resulted in incomplete recovery after 30 days. However, administration of the antidotes alone or in combination during the withdrawal period provided almost complete recovery, possibly due to their antioxidant properties and/or synergistic action.

Excerpt:

“In the present study, levels of glutathione and activities of catalase, GSH-PX, and SOD were significantly decreased, whereas lipid peroxide levels were enhanced in the brain of adult rats by treatment with NaF, As2O, or NaF + As2O3, in agreement with earlier reports.”