Extra Virgin olive oil mitigates hematotoxicity induced by acrylamide and oxidative damage in adult rats

Acrylamide (ACR) is a dietary contaminant derived from a wide range of foods through the Maillard-reaction during the cooking process. The present study focused on the hematotoxic effects of ACR and the protective efficacy of Extra Virgin olive oil (EVOO) in alleviating hematotoxicity and oxidative stress in erythrocytes of adult rats. Rats were divided into four groups of six each: group 1, serving as negative controls, received distilled water; group 2 received by gavage ACR at a dose of 40 mg/ kg body weight; group 3 received by gavage ACR supplemented with EVOO (300 μL); group 4,serving as positive controls, received only EVOO by gavage. All groups were sacrificed after three weeks. Acrylamide induced a significant increase in white blood cells (WBC), erythrocyte osmotic fragility (OF) and a decrease in red blood cells (RBC), hemoglobin (Hb) and hematocrit (Ht). While mean corpuscular volume (MCV), mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) and MCH concentration (MCHC) remained unchanged. Furthermore, exposure of rats to ACR induced erythrocytes oxidative stress with an increase of malondialdehyde, hydrogen peroxide, and protein carbonyls levels. A reduction in antioxidant status, enzymatic (catalase, glutathione peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) and non enzymatic (reduced glutathione, non protein thiols and vitamin C) was observed when compared to controls. EVOO supplementation alleviated significantly hematotoxicity induced by acrylamide as evidenced by restoring the biochemical markers cited above to near normal values. Our results revealed that extra virgin olive oil, a main component of olive Mediterranean diet, was effective in preventing erythrocytes damage and oxidative stress.