Protective role of melatonin against the mercury induced oxidative stress in the rat thyroid

Present study investigated the protective role of melatonin (MLT, 5 mg/kg body wt., ip) against the long term effects of mercuric chloride (MC; 2 and 4 mg/kg body wt., po) in the thyroid gland of the rats through certain antioxidative indices like superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GPx), glutathione reductase (GR), glutathione (GSH), catalase (CAT) and lipid peroxidation (LPO), other biochemical parameters such as succinate dehydrogenase (SDH), adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase), acid phosphatase (ACPase) and alkaline phosphatase (ALPase) were also measured. Antioxidative enzymes and other parameters showed a significant reduction while LPO and mercury levels increased significantly in a dose dependent manner in MC treated animals as compared to control groups. Co-treatment with MLT revealed no significant effect on antioxidative and metabolic indices in the thyroid gland of rats. The results of present study thus strongly suggest that mercury affected antioxidant defense system and other metabolic enzymes of thyroid. Co-administration of melatonin exerted a protective effect against mercury induced endocrine toxicity.