IN VIVO AND IN VITRO TOXICITY EVALUATION OF IRON FROM RED SEA FISH PRODUCTS AND THE INFLUENCE OF OXIDATIVE STRESS: A POTENTIAL RISK TO HUMAN HEALTH.

Abstract

Fish species from the Red Sea constitute an excellent food source but are also unsafe to consume because their content of iron (Fe) is greater than the recommended level. We looked into the safety issues connected to the ingestion of iron-rich fish. Fe(II) and Fe(III) were administered to Wistar rats at a dose of approximately 200 mg/kg body weight.Hepatic cell lines (WRL-68, HepG2 and FTO2B) were subjected to iron for cytotoxicity tests.After that, H2O2 was added as a pretreatment to FTO2B cells in order to mimic oxidative stress.The in vivo findings demonstrated that only the Fe2+ treatment altered significantly (P < 0.05) aminotransferase activity relative to the control and increased antioxidant enzyme activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentration. The cell lines did not exhibit toxicity from iron, which is commonly found in Red Sea fish, according to the in vitro results.On the other hand, the detrimental effects of H2O2 on FTO2B cells were enhanced by the addition of Fe(III).Additionally, the data showed that superoxide dismutase gene expression was elevated (P < 0.05) following exposure to Fe(III). The data obtained indicates that consuming fish products from the Red Sea may provide a potential risk of toxicity.

Keywords:Fish; Food quality; Iron; Cytotoxicity; Oxidative stress