Mechanisms of aluminium neurotoxicity in oxidative stress-induced ...

ABSTRACT
CHAPTER 2
In the present work, accumulation and distribution of aluminium in the rat brain
following both intraperitoneal and oral administration were studied. Male Sprague-
Dawley rats received a daily i.p. injection of aluminium chloride (10 mg Al 3+ /kg/day)
for one week or oral and progressively increasing administration of aluminium chloride
and citric acid up to 100 and 356 mg/kg/day, respectively. Electrothermal atomic
absorption spectrometry was used to determine aluminium concentration in different
brain areas (cerebellum, ventral midbrain, cortex, hippocampus, and striatum). The
results we obtained provided us insights about the most efficiency way for aluminium
administration in neurochemical studies focused to investigate the ability of this metal
to induce brain oxidative stress and consequently to cause neurodegeneration. Most of
the brain areas showed accumulation of aluminium, but a greater and more significant
increase was noted in the group receiving aluminium via intraperitoneal administration.
Aluminium distribution was also dependent on the administration route. According to
the here reported results, the intraperitoneal administration of aluminium was most
effective in improving aluminium accumulation in the different areas of the rat brain.
Our data suggest that aluminium neurotoxicity may be mediated by its particular
distribution in specific brain areas.
Keywords: Aluminium, brain distribution, intraperitoneal, oral, rat.
105