Antioxidant and chelating effects of Citrus sinensis peel extract on wistar rats administered with lead and cadmium

Heavy metals possess toxic effects that leads to serious health and environmental problems, anthropogenic activities are chiefly responsible for metal exposure, and they manifest toxic effects on a biological cell. The peels of Citrus sinensis have been reported to have medicinal effect. However, these benefits have not been adequately investigated against metals toxicity. This study evaluated the antioxidant and chelating effect of Citrus sinensis peel extract (CSPE) on wistar rats administered with lead and cadmium. Forty-five (45) rats were separated into nine (9) groups of 5 rats each. The group under control was given distilled water daily, group 2 and 3 received 8mg/kg of cadmium and 15 mg/kg of lead per body weight respectively. Animals in group 4 received 8 mg/kg of cadmium and 100 mg/kg of EDTA treatment per body weight. Group 5 were given 15 mg/kg of lead and treated with 100 mg/kg of EDTA. Group 6 and 7 were respectively treated with CSPE of 250 and 500 mg/kg and administered cadmium-8 mg/kg. Lastly, group 8 and 9 received lead and 250 and 500 mg/kg of CSPE respectively. Administration lasted for 28 days afterwards the rats were sacrificed. The whole blood was separated for analysis of haematological parameters and the liver and kidney tissues harvested for metal analysis. Glutathione Peroxidase (GPx), Malondialdehyde (MDA), Superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) were also estimated. Results showed a statistically significant increase (p<0.05) of MDA levels in lead and cadmium and a significant reduction in SOD, CAT and GPx values compared to the control and treated group. The level of cadmium and lead in blood, kidney, and liver tissues of 500 mg/kg CSPE were significantly reduced. CSPE possesses antioxidant properties and exhibits chelating effects on wistar rats administered with lead and cadmium.