Effect of hesperidin on γ-radiation-and/or paraquat herbicide-induced biochemical,hematological and histopathological changes in rats

People are subjected to harmful effects of free radicals either from physical factors such as exposure to ionizing radiation or chemical factors due to the extensive use of herbicides in our life. the objective of this work was to investigate the possible protective effects of hesperidin (hdn) (a citrus bioflavonoid) to overcome the deleterious effects of free radicals resulting from exposure to?-irradiation (ir) and/or paraquat herbicide (pq). male albino rats were whole body ir with 6gy (2 gy/week). rats were administered hdn (40mg/kg bwt) and/or pq (20.8mg/kg bwt) daily by gavages during the irradiation period (3weeks). the results revealed that exposure to ir and/or pq induced oxidative stress in blood,lung and dorsal aorta noticed by increased lipid peroxidation marker (malondialdehyde) associated with marked reduction in the content of reduced glutathione. disturbances in serum lipid and hematology profiles were also recorded. oxidative stress in lung and dorsal aorta was associated with histological damage. histological changes in the lung revealed degenerative changes in the bronchiolar epithelium while damaged endothelial cells were observed. nevertheless damages were more pronounced when rats were exposed to the combined effect of ir and pq. the administration of hdn to rats has significantly attenuated lipids variation,reduced oxidative stress,improved blood cell counts and attenuated lung and dorsal aorta tissue injury. it could be concluded that hdn might attenuate the severity of ir and/or pq-induced biochemical,hematological and histological damage mostly attributed to its antioxidant effect. © copyright 2016 zoological society of pakistan.