Background: Lead toxicity is a multi-organ risk. It represents a worldwide threat for a very long time ago due to its unavoidable exposure near industrial areas although of all precautions applied. Ginger proved to have an antioxidant effect through its chemical components and so it is adopted in many therapeutic forms.
Aim of the study: This study was to explore the proposed protective effect of ginger on hepatic vascular changes and toxicity resulting from environmental exposure to lead.
Material and methods: Thirty-two adult male albino rats (weighs 150–200gm) were used in the present study for 8 weeks. The animals were divided into four groups. Group I is a –ve control group received distilled water only by gavage, group II is a +ve control group received 500mg/kg BW ginger in distilled water by gavage, group III was treated with 60mg/kg BW lead acetate (LA) by gavage and group IV was treated by both doses of LA and ginger with gavage. After 8 weeks, animals of all groups were sacrificed and their livers were dissected, weighed and finally processed for light microscopic; HandE and immunohistochemical studies using the anti-apoptotic Bcl2 Immuno-staining.
Results: In the HandE and immune stained liver slides, the destructive effect of lead toxicity on liver of group III was obvious. Marked loss of the normal liver architecture with variable hepatocellular changes, necrotic foci and marked vascular affection were detected. These were mostly un-recognized in those rats co-treated with ginger (group IV) that showed almost a normal liver architecture with slightly dilated central veins. This proved to be of statistical significance when compared among the four groups.
Conclusion: Ginger proved statistically to be protective to both vascular and parenchymatous architecture in cases of hepatic lead toxicity.