Abstract

Virgilijus Zitkevicius*, Alina Smalinskiene, Nijole Savickiene, Arunas Savickas, Stanislovas Ryselis Ilona Sadauskiene, Leonid Ivanov and Vaiva Lesauskaite

Cadmium (Cd) is an important industrial pollutant, even though its mechanism of toxicity has not been completely clarified. Although Cd2+ is toxic to a wide range of organs and tissues, liver and kidneys are the primary target organs of cadmium toxicity. Cd2+ induces apoptosis, mitotic activity of cells and also causes necrotic cell death in certain pathophysiological situations. Echinacea purpurea (L.) Moench stimulates the production of immunoglobulins and/or interferons by stimulating one or another link of the immune system. The aim of our study was to investigate the effects of the liquid extract of Echinacea purpurea on the accumulation of Cd2+ in liver, kidney and on the mitotic and apoptotic activity of liver cells after the chronic intraperitoneal intoxication by Cd 2+. The experiments were performed on white laboratory mice using intraperitoneal injections of 0.05 LD50 of cadmium chloride solution. Two groups of mice were injected with Echinacea purpurea liquid extract of different concentrations - 0.05 LD50 and 0.1 LD50. Mitotic and apoptotic activity of liver cells was expressed as an estimated number of mitotic and apoptotic liver cells in randomly selected reference areas in a histological slide. Cd 2+ concentration in mice liver and kidney was detected using atomic absorption spectroscopy. Long-term injections of Echinacea purpurea extract combined with CdCl2 lead to a significant increase in cadmium concentration in the liver and kidney of experimental mice. Echinacea purpurea decreased the cadmium-induced mitotic activity of liver cells, and increased the apoptotic activity of these cells. Long-term exposure to Cd2+ results in the formation of the foci of necrosis in liver, which may be reduced by the application of Echinacea purpurea extract.