Synergistic effects of vitamin C mitigates sodium fluoride-induced dental fluorosis and allergic immune responses in mice

Abstract

Fluoride consumption through food and drinking water above permissible levels poses serious health risks. Managing fluoride intake from community water sources is a considerable challenge. This study aimed to understand the synergistic effect of vitamin C supplementation in a mouse model exposed to sodium fluoride (NaF) and ovalbumin (OVA) allergen. In brief, Balb/c mice received 100 ppm NaF daily in drinking water and intragastrical administration of 5 mg OVA as a food allergen. Further, OVA-specific IgE and IgG1 humoral immune responses, leukocytes infiltration, and histopathological alterations in tissues of the liver, kidney, thymus and spleen were analysed by ELISA and microscopic examination. Results showed that NaF and OVA administration developed clinical symptoms of food allergy, followed by dental fluorosis in the lower incisors, evidenced by Thylstrup-Fejerskov index in mice. Besides, Vitamin C supplementation, as a potential antioxidant and anti-allergic molecule effectively reduced the symptoms of food allergy, dental fluorosis, eosinophils infiltration, and histological alterations in mice which exposed to sodium fluoride and OVA allergen. In conclusion, the study provides compelling evidence that vitamin C might be a potential therapeutic drug for mitigating both dental fluorosis and food allergy induced by excessive fluoride intake through food and water.