Biophysical Approach of Anemia in Cadmium Induced Toxicity of Rats

The effect of exposure to cadmium (Cd) on blood, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant enzymes, and oxidative stress of hemoglobin (Hb) were studied. Male Wister rats (6 months old) were treated with cadmium (2.5mg/kg BW) three times weekly for eight weeks. Cd exposure reduced significantly (p 0.05) erythrocyte count (RBCs), hemoglobin content (Hb), hematocrit value (Hct), mean cell hemoglobin (MCH) and mean cell hemoglobin concentration as compared to control. Intoxication with cadmium significantly increased the lipid peroxidation marker malonaldialdehyde (MDA), while the antioxidant enzyme glutathione reductase (GSH) significantly decreased as compared to conmared to control. Intrinsic viscosity of Hb significantly increased, while the electrical conductivity of Hb significantly decreased. The results showed that hemoglobin suffers from a significant increase in the autooxidation rate in case of anemia in Cd-treared rats followed by an enhancement in both methemoglobin and hemichrome levels and a significant decrease in oxyhemoglobin concen-tration.