Heavy Metals and Human Health: Mechanistic Insight into Toxicity and Counter Defense System of Antioxidants

Abstract

Heavy metals, which have widespread environmental distribution and originate from natural and anthropogenic sources, are common environmental pollutants. In recent decades, their contamination has increased dramatically because of continuous discharge in sewage and untreated industrial effluents. Because they are non-degradable, they persist in the environment; accordingly, they have received a great deal of attention owing to their potential health and environmental risks. Although the toxic effects of metals depend on the forms and routes of exposure, interruptions of intracellular homeostasis include damage to lipids, proteins, enzymes and DNA via the production of free radicals. Following exposure to heavy metals, their metabolism and subsequent excretion from the body depends on the presence of antioxidants (glutathione, α-tocopherol, ascorbate, etc.) associated with the quenching of free radicals by suspending the activity of enzymes (catalase, peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase). Therefore, this review was written to provide a deep understanding of the mechanisms involved in eliciting their toxicity in order to highlight the necessity for development of strategies to decrease exposure to these metals, as well as to identify substances that contribute significantly to overcome their hazardous effects within the body of living organisms.

Phenotypic and molecular characterization of a novel isolate of Pseudomonas aeruginosa applicable for biosorption of Pb2+ from waste water: Application of biosorption isotherm models

“…Other symptoms of lead severe toxicity include irritability, muscle tremor, dullness, poor attention span, restlessness, hallucinations, loss of memory and headaches (ATSDR, 1990). Altered membrane integrity, function, permeability resulted from the interactions of lead with oxidation of membrane lipid (Jan et al, 2015). Also, the exposure to lead compounds results in the increase in the level of total cholesterol, triglycerides, and elevated lipoprotein content, which associated with cardiovascular (Poreba et al, 2011).…”

Electrochemical Determination of the Levels of Cadmium, Copper and Lead in Polluted Soil and Plant Samples from Mining Areas in Zamfara State, Nigeria

“…The main threats to human health from heavy metals are associated with exposure to lead, copper, cadmium, mercury and arsenic. These metals may enter the human body through inhalation of dust, consumption of contaminated drinking water and ingestion of food plants grown in contaminated soils [8,9]. The uptake of metals by plants can be affected by several factors which include metal concentrations in soils, soil pH, soil texture, cation exchange capacity, organic matter content of soils as well as the age of the plants [10][11][12].…”

Effect of Phosphorus on the Cadmium Transfer and ROS-scavenging Capacity of Rice Seedlings

“…카드뮴 오염은 환경적으로 부정적인 영향을 끼칠 뿐만 아니라 먹이사슬의 최 정상에 위치한 인간의 건강을 위협하는 치명적인 위해요소로 간주되고 있다 (Jan et al, 2015;Nagajyoti et al, 2010). (Barceló et al, 1988;Jung et al, 2015Jung et al, , 2016Lagriffoul et al, 1998;.…”

“…4, 2017 Introduction 세계적인 산업화 및 도시화는 농경지, 농업용수 그리고 생활용수 등의 오염수준을 급속히 증가시키고 있다 (Galiulin et al, 2001;Kirkham, 2006). 카드뮴 오염은 환경적으로 부정적인 영향을 끼칠 뿐만 아니라 먹이사슬의 최 정상에 위치한 인간의 건강을 위협하는 치명적인 위해요소로 간주되고 있다 (Jan et al, 2015;Nagajyoti et al, 2010). …”