Biosci. Biotech. Res. Comm. Special Issue : 118-121 (2017)

Protective effects of Vitamin C on kidney performance

of an adult male rat exposed to formaldehyde

Mohammad Hoseini Kasnaviyeh, Ebrahim Nasiri, Fatemeh Mohammadi, Samira Vaziri,

Reza Mosaddegh, Amir Noyani, Arezoo Dehghani and Gholamreza Masoumi*

Department of Medical Science, Emergency Medicine Management Research Center University of Medical

Sciences, Tehran, Iran

ABSTRACT

Formaldehyde is a chemical material with a nasty smell which is used in  xing cadavers, histology processes, syn-

thetic resins, wooden and plastic productions and industrial  ber production. Formaldehyde has also a negative effect

on body organs such as kidney. The target of this study is investigation of protection effect of Vitamin C on kidney

performance of male rate exposed to formaldehyde, with regard to this fact that antioxidants like Vitamin C play a

crucial role on protection against the damage occurred by smelling formaldehyde. 24 adult male rats were involved

in this study with 250-300 gr weights. The rats were divided into 3 groups. The  rst group called control group (c)

receive 1cc/kg formaldehyde and the second group (E1) received 10mg/kg formaldehyde and the third group (E2)

received 10 mg/kg formaldehyde with 200 mg/kg Vitamin C for 10 days by daily injection. After 3 weeks of the last

injection, phlebotomy was performed and the serum level of urea and creatinine was evaluated and compared in three

groups. The result of Urea level comparison was meaningful among three groups (P<0.05). In the groups receiving

formaldehyde and Vitamin C at the same time, there were not any signi cant difference related to the Urea level with

control group (P=0.239). The Urea level of E2 group in comparison with E1 group was not meaningful (p=0.149).

However, the comparison of creatinine was meaningful among these groups (P<0.05). However, treatment with Vita-

min C in the E2 group, could not signi cantly effect on creatinine increase (P<0.05). The level of creatinine in E2

group is not meaningful rather than E1 group. In conclusion, it was observed that 10 days injection of 200 (mg/kg)

Vitamin C in the peritoneal can avoid increasing of Urea due to formalin among adult rats.

KEY WORDS: FORMALDEHYDE, KIDNEY, VITAMIN C, RATS

118

ARTICLE INFORMATION:

*Corresponding Author: Greza.masoumi@iums.ac.ir

Received 27

Nov, 2016

Accepted after revision 28

Feb, 2017

BBRC Print ISSN: 0974-6455

Online ISSN: 2321-4007

Thomson Reuters ISI ESC and Crossref Indexed Journal

NAAS Journal Score 2017: 4.31 Cosmos IF : 4.006

reserved.

Online Contents Available at: http//www.bbrc.in/

Kasnaviyeh, Nasiri, Mohammadi and Vaziri

INTRODUCTION

Formaldehyde is a chemical material with a nasty smell

(Golalipour et al. 2007). Which is used in  xing cadav-

ers, histology processes, synthetic resins, wooden and

plastic productions and industrial  ber production for-

maldehyde has a negative effect on performance of body

organs (Mendis-Handagama et al. 2007). It is metabo-

lized to formic acid by dehydrogenase formaldehyde

and dehydrogenase aldehyde enzymes in the liver and

erythrocyte which is exorcised through urine, excretion

and breathing with different macromolecules such as

protein, acid nucleic or interact with the light molecules

like amino acid (Cheng et al. 2003; Collins and Lineker,

2004). Formaldehyde can cause oxidative stress in the

body and has a bad effect on respiratory system and

blood circulation and kidney (Kini et al. 2004). Antioxi-

dants such a components that help body to destroy free

radicals oxidative stress is actually imbalance between

oxidants and antioxidants. When the amount of oxi-

dants increases, the cells are damaged. Antioxidants

include Vitamin A, E, C, Zn and selenium which play

a crucial rate on inhibition of free radicals and stability

of cell membrane (Kini et al. 2004). Vitamin C (Ascorbic

Acid) is a white or yellow odorless solid substrate with

the molecular formulation of C6H806. Ascorbic Acid is

produced in the liver of plants and animals (except some

special kind and human). Vitamin C operates as antioxi-

dants in the body and cause acceleration of Fe, Cu and

also revives of folic acid and collagen making (Kum et

al. 2011). Vitamin C as a soluble antioxidant becomes

active by moving oxygen and nitrogen elements (Rekha

et al. 2011).

Vitamin C has also an important role in protecting

the kidney and it can prevent increasing urea and cre-

atinine in the oxidative damage (Sokkary and Awadalla,

2011; Agarwal et al. 2010; Yurdakul et al. 2010). One of

the most important damage of formaldehyde is kidney

damage (Umemura et al. 2009; Coronel et al. 2010). Oxi-

dants are able to change proliferative in the glomerule

structure of kidney (Coronel et al. 2010; Saleem et al.

2012). Antioxidants consumption can prevent damage

of kidney (Djeffal et al. 2011; Ememghorashy et al. 2012;

Claudia et al. 2003; Qiu et al. 2010; Zhou et al. 2006).

The kidney performance can be evaluated by investigat-

ing the indicators of blood (Hai Xia et al. 2012; Ukmali

et al. 2011). With regard to the formaldehyde effects in

making oxidative stress, free radicals and their effect

on kidney performance and in accordance with the

performed studies related to the formaldehyde on the

kidney tissue changes as glomerule vascular congestion

and also minor decline holes in the pipe cells and studies

about the protection effect of Vitamin C on prevention

of formaldehyde damage (Sajadi et al. 2008; Farmahini

et al. 2008), in this study, we decided to investigate the

protection effect of Vitamin C on kidney performance of

mats after exposing to formaldehyde.

METHODOLOGY OF PLAN PERFORMANCE

Ether was used in this study to anesthesia the rats and

5cc syringe with anatomy tools was used for phlebotomy

and also centrifugal tool for separating rat’s serum. In

this study 24 adult rat of vista bread were selected and

divided into 3 equal groups. The  rst group (c) received

1cc/kg of normal saline and the second group (E2)

received 10 mg/kg formaldehyde and the third group

(E3) received both 10mg/kg formaldehyde and 200 mg/

kg Vitamin C in 10 days by injection into peritoneal.

During the study, the rats were under normal condition

of shelter with 24±2 temperature and appropriate feed-

ing. 3 weeks after  nishing the injection phlebotomy,

after anesthesia by sterile syringe was performed. After

making  occulation by centrifuge, samples were sepa-

rated with 1500 rpm during 10 minutes and they were

kept in -20 c till testing for evaluation of urea and cre-

atinine. The amount of urea and creatinine by using Pars

Azmoon kits and auto analyzer tool (Biotectica Instru-

ment BT 1000) were evaluated and Calorimetric was

done on kits to evaluate urea and jaffe was performed to

evaluate creatinine. Data analysis after entering the data

to SPSS Ver 18 was done by using Shapiro-wilk test to

investigate normality of cantinas quantitative data dis-

tribution. The explicit result of the groups was reported

as average and deviation from standard deviation. The

comparison between the investigated groups was per-

formed by using ANOVA test. If the average differences

of statistic results were meaningful the LSD test were

used to compare them. The meaningful level was con-

sidered less than 0.05 (P<0.05)

RESULTS

The urea result was meaningful in 3 groups (P<0.05)

and the increase of urea in E1 group (after receiving

formaldehyde) rather than C group (after receiving

normal saline) was also meaningful (P<0.05). While

the increase amount of urea in E2 group (after receiv-

ing formaldehyde and Vitamin C) rather than C group

was not meaningful (p=0.239). The increase amount of

urea in E1 group rather than E2 was not meaningful

(p=0.149). The creatinine result in 3 groups was mean-

ingful (p<0.05). The increase amount of creatinine of E1

group in comparison with C group was also meaningful

(p<0.05) and the increase amount of creatinine in E2

group in comparison with C group was also meaning-

ful (p<0.05). While the increase amount of creatinine

BIOSCIENCE BIOTECHNOLOGY RESEARCH COMMUNICATIONS INVESTIGATION OF PROTECTION EFFECT OF VITAMIN C ON KIDNEY PERFORMANCE 119

Kasnaviyeh, Nasiri, Mohammadi and Vaziri

in E group rather than E2 group was not meaningful

(p=0.847).

DISCUSSION

Formaldehyde can affect the body organs due to creat-

ing free radicals (Yurdakul et al. 2010). Formaldehyde

can also affect the kidney performance such as excretion

of waste substances (Umemura et al. 2009). Antioxidant

can prevent the harmful effect of formaldehyde. Vita-

mins are one of the most important antioxidants – espe-

cially Vitamin C – which play an effective role in protec-

tion against oxidative damage caused by free raducals

(Coronel et al. 2010). On the other hand, this Vitamin

can enhance the activity of antioxidant enzymes in the

kidney tissue (Saleem et al. 2012). This study is similar

to the Kum C study for investigating urea amount (Kum

et al. 2011). Although in the Kum C study, the effect

of formalin smell on rat’s body was investigated and

the meaningful difference was just related to the urea

amount. While In our study the meaningful difference

in the Creatinine and urea was observed between the

group exposed to formaldehyde and the control group

(p<0.05).

In the study of Sajad, et al., injecting Vitamin C

causes the decrease of urea and creatinine meaningful

(p<0.05). In the patients suffering from kidney damage

under analysis treatment (Sajadi et al. 2008) however,

according to our study, injecting Vitamin C had not a

signi cant effect on decreasing the creatinine amount in

the rat’s exposed to the formaldehyde. The result of this

part of the study which is the main part of it is similar

to other studies related to the investigating the protec-

tion effect of this Vitamin C is effective on prevention

against bad effect of some substrates like formaldehyde

due to reducing the amount of free radicals. In this

study, the result of investigating urea and creatinine in

3 groups had a meaningful difference (p<0.05) in which

the amount of them in the rats exposed to formaldehyde

had a signi cant difference with the control group. The

injection of Vitamin C enhance the changes of the urea

amount (p<0.05). However, there were not any meaning-

ful changes relate to the creatinine (p>0.05) .The average

of creatinine in E2 group exposed to formaldehyde and

treated by Vitamin C (0.74±0.09) was less than E1 group

(0.75±0.06).

Although these changes couldn’t make an effect in

the meaningful difference between E2 group and con-

trol group. With regard to the above and the performed

experiments, it was observed that formaldehyde known

as a harmful substrate and exposing to formaldehyde can

effect on excretion substrate from kidneys. In this study

formaldehyde was the cause of the meaningful difference

in the creatinine and Urea level in the group exposed to

formaldehyde in comparison with control group.

In various studies, the effects of antioxidants as a

protection agent on body organs have been approved. In

this study, injecting the Vitamin C could prevent mean-

ingful changes in the urea level of the group exposed

to the formaldehyde. According to the above results, it

was concluded that injecting of 200 mg/kg Vitamin C

into peritoneal during 10 days can reduce the increase

of urea amount due to formalin in the adult male rats.

CONCLUSION

With regard to the performed study, Vitamin C can be

used as one of the most important antioxidants which

have a protective relative effect against kidney poison-

ing by formaldehyde.

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