Effect of Chromium on Certain Aspects of Cellular Toxicity

Introduction: The impact of chromium exposure was studied on liver, kidney, testis, spleen, cerebrum and cerebellum of male Wistar rats (80-100 g body weight). Material & Method: It was observed that treatments of rats with chromium (i.p. at a dose of 0.8 mg / 100 g body weight per day) for a period of 28 days caused significant increase in chromium content while declining the body weight along with the organ weight, except liver. Results: Decreased acid phosphatase (ACP) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities were observed in most of the organs. Significant increases in the cholesterol contents of all the organs were associated with the significant decreases in the level of phospholipids. Lipid peroxidation decreased in liver and kidney while it increased in testis, cerebrum and cerebellum. Reduced glutathione (GSH) level was found to be increased in liver, spleen and cerebrum, and decreased in kidney and testis. Catalase activity became elevated in liver, kidney, spleen and cerebellum while it decreased in testis. Conclusion: It is suggested that chromium treatment at the present dose and duration induces general tissue toxicity by causing membrane damage due to changes in the relative proportion of cholesterol and phospholipids in the membrane structure. In addition, tissue specific toxicity is affected by lipid peroxidation in testis, cerebrum and cerebellum, and in other tissues increased GSH level or enhanced catalase activity prevents lipid peroxidation to occur due to reactive oxygen species produced from chromium transformation.