Protective effects of selenium on acrylamide toxicity in the liver of the rat. Effects on the oxidative stress.

Acrylamide (AA), obtained for the first time by Moureu in Germany in 1893, is presently used as poly-acrylamide in water treatment and wastewater treatment, paper and pulp processing, mineral processing, crude-oil production processes. Acrylamide is a chemical product formed when frying, roasting, grilling or baking carbohydrate-rich foods at temperatures above 120°C. Acrylamide is thus found in a number of foods, such as bread, crisps, French fries and cof-fee. Tobacco smoking also generates substantial amounts of acrylamide. Acrylamide admin-istration is associated with significant increase of oxidative stress parameters; acrylamide caused disturbances in the oxidative status and enzyme activities and the effect was pro-nounced with the high doses. Material and methods: This study investigates the effect of selenium (as sodium selenite and as a selenium dietary supplements – Celnium) on the oxi-dative stress in Wistar rats which received high doses of acrylamide. Results: The admin-istration of sodium selenite and selenium dietary supplements (Celnium) significantly in-creased GSH and GPx levels and decreased MDA compared to group which received only acrylamide. Conclusions: Our results show that sodium selenite and selenium dietary sup-plements (Celnium) can partially prevent the biochemical changes in the liver of the rats which received high doses of acrylamide.