No abstract

Lead (Pb) is a toxic heavy metal widely distributed in the environment. Recent studies suggest oxidative stress as one possible mechanism involved in Pb poisoning. The unicellular algae Chlorella vulgaris (CV) contains various bioactive substances with antioxidant for the prevention of oxidative stress by metals. We investigated the protective effects of CV on the oxidative system in five groups of male Sprague-Dawley rats fed American Institute of Nutrition (AIN)-76 diet, plus 2, 5 or 10% CV for 4 weeks. All animals were exposed to 200 mg/l lead acetate by drinking water except for the control (tap water). Body weight gains were significantly reduced in the Pb-exposed group (64%) relative to the control and CV groups. Brain weights were significantly increased in the Pb-exposed group (44%) relative to the others. In the experimental period, food intake, water intake and Pb intake were not different among the groups. The levels of Pb (87%) in brain obtained from the Pb-exposed group were significantly increased compared to the other groups. The levels of oxidative stress parameters in the brain such as superoxide dismutase (36%), glutathione peroxidase (63%), and glutathione reductase (30%) were decreased in the Pb-exposed group relative to the control but markedly increased in the CV groups. The CV also significantly increased glutathione levels by approximately 1.7-fold over the Pb-exposed group, while the malondialdehye concentration significantly decreased by approximately 47-71%. Based on these results, we found alterations in several indicators of oxidative stress of Pb intoxication, suggesting the antioxidant potential of CV. Therefore, CV may have protective effects on brain damage of low-level and short-term Pb exposure in the brains of rats.

Geometrical and electronic structures of new π-conjugated five-membered ring polymers were theoretically investigated. These polymers are analogous to heterocyclic polymers, but adopt as bridging groups ≳CH2, ≳CF2, ≳SiH2, ≳SiF2, ≳C=CH2, ≳C=O and ≳C=S moieties instead of heteroatoms. The ground-state geometries of the polymers were predicted to be quinoid from semiempirical band calculations with AM1 Hamiltonian. The electronic properties of these systems were obtained using the modified extended Hückel method. The calculated band gaps (Eg) were analyzed in terms of geometrical relaxations and electronic effect of the bridging groups using the equation of Eg=ΔEδr+ΔE1–4+ΔEel. The effect of bond-length alternation (ΔEδr) amounts to 1.1–1.4 eV for the aromatic forms and 1.8–1.9 eV for the quinoid forms of the polymers. The interactions (ΔE1–4) between C1 and C4 atoms of the cis-PA type backbone tend to decrease the band gaps of the aromatic forms and to increase the gaps of the quinoid forms as much as 0.2–0.5 eV, depending on the size of a bridging atom. It is found that the electronic effect (ΔEel) of these bridging groups is quite small compared to that found in heterocyclic polymers such as polythiophene, polypyrrole, and polyfuran. ΔEel of ≳CF2, ≳SiH2, and ≳SiF2 bridging groups are negligible and that of the other groups amounts to 0.3–1.0 eV. Therefore, the band gaps of these systems almost correspond to the ΔEδr values which arise from the bond-length alternations, except the case of the polymers with ≳C=O and ≳C=S bridging groups whose π* orbitals strongly interact with the π system of the polymeric backbone.

No abstract