The Efficacy of Coffee and Green Tea in Ameliorating Histological and Biochemical Changes Induced By γ-Irradiation in Albino Rats

Exposure to ionizing radiation results in oxidative damage, organ dysfunction and metabolic disturbances. The aim of the present study was to investigate the efficacy of coffee, green tea, or coffee + green tea consumption on radiationinduced damage in liver and heart tissues of rats. Rats received/day, by gavages, the water extract of 0.3g green tea and/or 0.2g coffee, for a period of 7 days. The last dose was given 60min before irradiation with a dose of 6.5 Gy. Histological examination through light microscope of sections in the liver and heart tissues on the 3 day post-irradiation revealed that all treatments has attenuated radiation-induced oxidative damage. Necrosis, apoptosis, cell death and rupture of cell membrane in both tissues were less severe and were associated with significant decrease of serum malondialdehyde (MDA) content and significant increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (Cat) activities, and glutathione (GSH) content, compared to their corresponding value in non irradiated rats. The results were substantiated by significant amelioration in the activity of serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), gamma glutamyl transferase (GGT), and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and the content of triglycerides (TG) and total cholesterol (TC), markers of liver and heart functions. No significant changes were recorded between the 3 treatments. However, coffee + green tea provoked better results with respect to radiation-induced lipid peroxidation, which might be attributed to their synergistic effect as free radical scavengers. It could be concluded that drinking coffee associated with green tea is healthier than drinking coffee or green tea alone to protect liver and heart tissues from oxidative stress. R. G. REZK & M. M. DARWISH / J. Rad. Res. Appl. Sci., Vol. 2, No.5 (2009) 933