Protective Effect of Selenium Nanoparticles against Acrylamide-Induced Hepatotoxicity in Albino Rats

Selenium nanoparticles have received wide attention due to their importance in nutrition compared to other forms of selenium used in food fortification. In the present study, chitosan-stabilized selenium nanoparticles (Ch-SeNPs) were prepared, characterized and evaluated for their hepatoprotective effect against acrylamide -induced hepatotoxicity in albino rats. According to TEM and Zetasizer analysis, the size of Ch-SeNPs produced in the present study were ranged from 18 to 55 nm with average of 22 nm. Acrylamide treatment led to elevation of the studied biochemical parameters of liver including total protein, albumin, globulin, alkaline phosphatase, aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase. Intake of Ch-SeNPs either 15 days prior to or simultaneously with the treatment with acrylamide led to enhance the biochemical parameters to be near the normal range. Same trend was obtained when rats were fed on sodium selenite, but Ch-SeNPs were more closely related to control group (untreated). The histopathological structure examination of rat liver emphasized the obtained biochemical results.The obtained results confirmed that, the intake of Ch-SeNPs 15 days before treatment by acrylamide had significant (< 0.05) protective effect against liver injury compared to the intake of these nanoparticles along with acrylamide.