Assessment of the effects of sodium nitrate (NaNO₃) on the reproductive system, liver, pancreas, and kidney of male rats

Abstract

Nitrate (NO3) toxicity is a serious global issue that results in impairment of physiological systems of our body. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of different concentration of NaNO3 (10, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw) on the male reproductive system, liver, kidney and pancreas. Adult male Wistar rats were divided into five groups of five animals each ( n = 5). The first group served as controls. The second, third, fourth and fifth groups of rat were orally intubated with 10, 100, 500 and 1000 mg/kg bw of NaNO3 for 52 days. After the treatment period, the rats were sacrificed and NO3 induced alterations on selected organs were assessed. There was a dose dependent decrease in sperm motility, serum concentration of testosterone, body weight and organ weight, and increase in abnormal sperm morphology in the NaNO3 treated groups compared with the controls. Further, histological analysis confirmed that NO3 induced toxicity. Shrunken seminiferous tubules and loss of spermatids in testes, shrinkage of acinar cells of the pancreas, sinusoidal congestion and necrosis in the liver, atrophy of glomeruli and congestion of renal tubules of the kidney were the histological alterations observed in rats treated with100 and 500 mg/kg NaNO3. However, 100% mortality was observed in rats treated with 1000 mg/kg NaNO3. The present study clearly demonstrated the toxic effects of NaNO3 on both the reproductive system and other organs of the body. The study might inform human studies; where in the chances of male infertility may be more a problem for individuals in areas with NO3‐rich ground water.

Crosstalk Between miRNA and Protein Expression Profiles in Nitrate-Exposed Brain Cells

“…The majority of neurological illnesses are mostly caused by prenatal or postnatal exposure to environmental toxins [24]. Some experimental and clinical studies have also reported the adverse effect of nitrates on health by targeting various physiological and metabolic functions in the body [8, [25][26][27]. Epidemiological studies have shown that high levels of nitrate can be toxic and its chronic exposure may affect brain development [8,27].…”

“…Some experimental and clinical studies have also reported the adverse effect of nitrates on health by targeting various physiological and metabolic functions in the body [8, [25][26][27]. Epidemiological studies have shown that high levels of nitrate can be toxic and its chronic exposure may affect brain development [8,27]. Studies from our lab and elsewhere have provided evidence that miRNA plays an important role in neuronal development and neurodegeneration [15,12,[28][29][30][31].…”

Reduced Graphene Oxide-Supported Copper(I) Oxide Composites for the Degradation of Methylene Blue: Exploring the Capacity of RGO as an Electron Capturer for Achieving Highly Stable Photocatalytic Activity

“…This approach uses phosphoric acid (H 3 PO 4 ) instead of HNO 3 , eliminating poisonous gases, for instance, NO and NO 2 , and excluding NaNO 3 , which causes damage to the human body at high concentrations. Additionally, one-pot precipitation using ascorbic acid (C 6 H 8 O 6 ) as a coreducing agent to produce Cu 2 O and RGO, which is a green and nontoxic material, is employed to fabricate Cu 2 O–RGO composites. , Moreover, the Cu 2 O–30% RGO composite with a large Brunauer–Emmett–Teller (BET) surface area ( S BET = 43.701 m 2 /g) is successfully synthesized, offering the largest active area for MB decomposition under visible-light irradiation. Photocatalytic activity of the Cu 2 O–30% RGO composite catalyst for MB degradation under solar irradiation for 30 min is 5-fold (99.2% MB degradation) that of the pure-phase Cu 2 O (17.5% MB degradation), and the Cu 2 O–30% RGO composite demonstrates excellent recyclability without significant activity loss.…”