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Abstract
The present work was planned to investigate the ability of vitamin C (VC) to encounter the changes in lipid metabolism which accompany chronic administration of lithium (Li) in adult male albino rats. Also, this study aims to shed light on the beneficial effect of vitamin C supplementation with lithium chloride on some monoamine neurotransmitters in different brain regions. Seventy two rats weighting 120-160g were divided into four groups (18 rats each). The first, the untreated control group, received a daily oral administration of distilled water. The second, Li group, received a daily oral administration of lithium chloride (5mg/kg body wt.). The third, VC group, received a daily oral administration of VC (50mg/kg body wt.). The fourth, lithium and vitamin C group (Li & VC), received a daily oral administration of Li (5mg/kg body wt.), and then followed after one hour by oral administration of VC (50mg/kg body wt.). Six animals of each group were decapitated on the 7th, 14th and 21st days of treatment. The data indicated that Li oral administration for 21 consecutive days increased serum triglycerides (TG) level but decreased it in the liver. A decrease in the level of total lipids (TL), as well as, high density lipoprotein (HDL) was monitored in both serum and liver of Li-treated rats. The level of low density lipoprotein (LDL) increased after oral daily administration of Li in both serum and liver, too. No significant changes were observed in cholesterol (CH) level either in serum or liver of Li-administered rats. Oral daily administration of VC for 21 consecutive days caused a decrease in serum TL and TG while decreased CH and LDL levels in serum and liver. An increase in the liver content of TL and TG was also observed, accompanied by an increase in serum and hepatic content of HDL in VC-treated rats. Likely, Li & VC combined administration for 21 consecutive days showed a decrease in serum TL, TG, CH and LDL levels of Li & VC-treated rats group. Livers of Li & VC-treated rats exhibited a decrease in their TG, CH and LDL contents, meanwhile, TL content of the same rats showed an increase in the beginning of treatment but by continuous administration, it almost returned to the normal level. Hepatic HDL of Li & VC-treated group showed no change from control values. On the other hand, the data mentioned in the present work demonstrated that oral administration of VC alone or in combination with Li for 21 consecutive days decreased the levels of NE, DA and 5-HT in most brain regions and at most time intervals.
Key Words: Lithium-Vitamin C-Lipid Metabolism-monoamines-Rats.