Background: food additives are substances intentionally added to food to change its characteristics, to maintain and improve safety, to improve or maintain the nutrient value and to improve taste, texture, and appearance. Sodium nitrite is an inorganic salt with widespread applications in the food industry as a food preservative in meat and fish. However, Annatto is used as a dyeing agent in the food industry in coloring butter, cheese, and ice-cream whereas Monosodium Glutamate (MSG) is one of the most used flavorenhancers which is ingested as part of commercially processed foods. Stem cell enhancer is a natural stem cell mobilizer that can trigger the release of millions of adult stem cells from bone marrow into the circulation, and its considerable safety allows for a sustained oral daily intake over long periods of time.
Aim of the work: this study was aimed to determine the therapeutic effects of Stem Cell Enhancer (SCE) against the hazardous effects of sodium nitrite, annatto and monosodium glutamate on some physiological parameters in male albino rats. Materials and methods: this study had been done on thirty male albino rats with an average body weight 120-140 g. The animals were divided into three groups; Group 1: control (untreated group), Group 2:rats treated with food additives mixture (sodium nitrite, annatto, and monosodium glutamate); Group 3: rats treated with food additives mixture, in addition to Stem Cell Enhancer. Blood samples were collected, and the separated sera were used for estimation of some biochemical parameters (liver enzymes, kidney functions, glucose, protein profile and lipid profile) and hormonal levels [testosterone,triiodothyronine (T3) and thyroxine(T4)].
Results: the biochemical results showed an increase in the activities of liver enzymes [aspartate aminotransferase (AST) and alanine aminotransferase (ALT)], and the levels of glucose, kidney functions (urea, and creatinine), lipid profile [total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein(LDL-c), high-density lipoprotein(HDL-c)and risk factors 1& 2] and thyroid hormones [T3 and T4]in the mixture accompanied by a significant decrease in protein profile (total protein, albumin and globulin), HDL-and testosterone hormone levels as compared to the control rats. On the other hand, these results turned back to nearly to the normal values after receiving the Stem cell Enhancer.
Conclusion: the present study clearly revealed thetherapeutic capability of SCE to fight the grievous effects of food additives mixture on major physiological parameters.