Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences
 

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RAPHANUS SATIVUS JUICE ALLEVIATES MERCURY-INDUCED MULTISYSTEM TOXICITY IN RATS: AN INTEGRATED BIOCHEMICAL, HISTOPATHOLOGICAL AND REPRODUCTIVE STUDY

LEILA BOUKHALFOUN 1*#, WAFA SIOUDA 1#, CHAHRAZED GHEFFAR 2, RACHIDA KIRDI 1, KHEIRA SLAMA 3, ABDERREZZAK KIROUANI 1#

¹ Laboratory of Nutrition, Biodiversity and Environment, Department of Agronomy, Faculty of Sciences, University of Médéa, 26000, Algeria
2 Laboratory of Materials and Environment (LME), Faculty of Technology, University of Médéa, Urban Pole, Médéa, 26000, Algeria
3 Laboratory of Biochemistry and Environmental Toxicology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Badji Mokhtar, Annaba, Algeria

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Mercury is a pervasive environmental toxin that disrupts cellular redox homeostasis and induces multisystem toxicity. This study evaluated the protective effects of Raphanus sativus juice against mercuric chloride (HgCl₂)-induced toxicity in adult male Wistar rats following 30 days of exposure. HgCl₂ caused marked biochemical and reproductive alterations, including increased plasma glucose, triglycerides, urea, creatinine, and hepatic enzyme activities, together with reductions in sperm concentration (-64.3%), motility (-51.7%), testosterone (-53.1%), and hepatic and renal reduced glutathione (GSH) levels (-62% and -63%, respectively). Qualitative histopathological assessment revealed tissue lesions in the liver, kidneys, testes, and epididymides. Co-administration of R. sativus juice substantially attenuated these alterations, improving biochemical and reproductive parameters, restoring GSH levels, and apparently preserving tissue architecture. Exploratory multivariate analyses identified coordinated associations among reproductive, metabolic, hepatorenal, hematological, and oxidative-stress variables; however, treatment adjustment markedly attenuated these relationships, indicating that group separation contributed substantially to the pooled multivariate structure. Thus, R. sativus juice showed protective potential against HgCl₂-induced multisystem toxicity, although the limited redox assessment and qualitative histopathology preclude attributing this to a demonstrated antioxidant mechanism.