Background: Silver nanoparticles (Ag-NPs) are increasingly used in industrial and biological applications. There are growing worries regarding their toxicity to both humans and animals. Selenium-loaded chitosan nanoparticles (CS-SeNPs) have strong antioxidant properties via scavenging free radicals.
Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the protective effect of CS-SeNPs against Ag-NPs' damaging effects on the hepatic tissue of adult female rats.
Methods: Forty female albino rats were separated into four groups: group I (control) was given distilled water (0.5 ml/kg), group II was administered Ag-NPs (100 mg/kg), group III was co-exposed with Ag-NPs (100 mg/kg) and CS-SeNPs (0.5 mg/kg) and group IV received only CS-SeNPs (0.5 mg/kg) daily by oral gavage. After 60 days, rats were euthanized, then hepatic tissues were collected and fixed in 5% glutaraldehyde for transmission electron microscopy.
Results: Exposure to Ag-NPs induced severe degeneration of the hepatocytes, in the form of complete lysis and disappearance of the cytoplasmic organelles. While supplementation with CS-SeNPs exhibited a partial disappearance of most degenerative changes induced by Ag-NPs. In conclusion, Ag-NPs induce some destructive effects on the hepatic tissue and CS-SeNPs can ameliorate most of these harmful effects.