Sub-acute Effects of α-Fe2O3 Nanoparticles on Some Biochemical Parameters in Mice

The goal  of the study was to find out the toxic effect of daily treatment with α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles for 14 and 28 days on some biochemical indicators in mice by measuring ferritin, transferrin, cholinesterase enzyme activity, the concentration of Caspase-3, and the concentration of glutathione and malondehyde in brain and liver tissues at doses of 75, 150 and 300 mg/kg. α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles at the dose of 75 mg/kg caused a significant decrease in the activity of the acetyl cholinesterase enzyme in the brain and liver after 14 days of treatment, compared with the control group and the doses of α- Fe2O3 (75, 150, and 300 mg/kg) led to a significant decrease in the activity of the acetyl cholinesterase enzyme in the brain after 28 days of treatment. Fe2O3 at a dose of 75 mg/kg on the 14th day and at a dose of 150 mg/kg on the 28th day of treatment resulted in a significant increase in the caspase-3 enzyme in the brain compared to the control group. While the doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg for 28 days led to a significant increase in transferrin concentration compared with the control group, The α-Fe2O3 nanoparticles at doses of 75, 150, and 300 mg/kg for 28 days caused a significant decrease in the concentration of glutathione in the liver and brain tissues compared with the control group, accompanied by a significant increase in the concentration of malondehyde in the brain and liver tissues at doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg of body weight. We conclude that repeated exposure to α - Fe2O3 nanoparticles has toxic effects on vital organs such as the brain and liver, represented by a decrease in the concentration of acetylcholinesterase and its ability to induce oxidative stress through a decrease in glutathione concentration and an increase in malondehyde concentration in mice .