Luteolin alleviates inorganic mercury-induced liver injury in quails by resisting oxidative stress and promoting mercury ion excretion

BackgroundInorganic mercury is a well-known toxic substance that can cause oxidative stress and liver damage. Luteolin (Lut) is a kind of natural antioxidant, which is widely found in plants. Therefore, we focused on exploring the alleviative effect of Lut on liver injury induced by mercuric chloride (HgCl₂), and the potential molecular mechanism of eliminating mercury ions in quails.Methods and resultsTwenty-one-day-old male quails were randomly split into four groups: control group, Lut group, HgCl₂ group, and HgCl₂ + Lut group. The test period was 12 weeks. The results showed that Lut could significantly ameliorate oxidative stress, the release of inflammatory factors, and liver damage caused by HgCl_2, and reduce the accumulation of Hg²⁺ in quail liver. Furthermore, Lut evidently increased the levels of protein kinase C α (PKCα), nuclear factor-erythroid-2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and its downstream proteins, and inhibited nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-κB) production in the liver of quails treated by HgCl₂.ConclusionsTo sum up, our results suggest that Lut not only reduces the levels of oxidative stress and inflammation, but also promotes the excretion of Hg²⁺ by promoting the PKCα/Nrf2 signaling pathway to alleviate HgCl₂-induced liver injury in quails.