Effects of boric acid on oxidant-antioxidant, proinflammatory cytokine levels, and biochemical parameters in aged rats

Abstract

Purpose: As a result of the literature studies, it was seen that boric acid was the subject of many studies, and its effects on living things were investigated and examined. This study aimed to investigate the effects of oral boric acid supplementation at pharmacologic doses on physiological and biochemical systems in aged rats. Material and methods: A total of 32 Wistar Albino male-aged rats were randomly and equally divided into the following four groups: 1st; Control=1 ml saline; 2nd; Low-dose boric acid (L-BA)=10 mg/kg; 3rd; Medium-dose boric acid (M-BA)=20 mg/kg; 4th; High-dose boric acid (H-BA)=40 mg/kg. Boric acid was given orally to aged rats for 28 days. Blood, liver, and kidney samples of rats were collected on day 29 to be analyzed for oxidants, antioxidants, proinflammatory cytokines, and biochemical changes. Result: Boric acid significantly increased albumin, total protein, calcium levels equally in all boric acid groups compared to the control group (p<0.05), increased cholesterol parameter only in H-BA group (p<0.05), increased phosphor level in M-BA and H-BA groups compared to control and L-BA groups (p<0.05), total bilirubin level was increased only in L-BA group (p<0.05), blood urea nitrogen level was increased in L-BA and M-BA groups (p<0.05), alanine aminotransferase level was increased only in M-BA group (p<0.05), creatine kinase and glucose levels were increased boric acid in all groups compared to control group (p<0.05). However, boric acid did not affect globulin, creatine, alkaline phosphatase, and amylase levels in a dose-dependent manner (p>0.05). Boric acid significantly decreased MDA levels (p<0.05) and increased GSH, SOD, and CAT enzyme activities (p<0.05) in liver and kidney tissues in a dose-dependent manner. In addition, boric acid decreased plasma IL-6 and TNF-α proinflammatory cytokine levels (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study demonstrated that boric acid supplementation has ameliorative effects in a dose-dependent manner on lipid peroxidation, immunomodulation, and regulation of many blood biochemical parameters in aged rats.