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Abstract:

Lead is one of the most toxic metals known to humans. Lead toxicity, especially chronic toxicity has been labeled as a major health problem globally, Pakistan being no exception. Lead toxicity is implicated in severe adverse effects to the central nervous, cardiovascular, hematologic, renal and reproductive systems.

Data from Pakistan show that 70 percent of children as well as adults in urban population of Karachi have blood lead levels above the limits set by international standards (< 10µg/dL for children and <20µg/dL for adults). Currently, there are no satisfactory drugs for chronic Lead toxicity. Intravenous CaNa2EDTA and Penicillamine are available but mainly used for emergency situations like acute Lead poisoning and do not address chronic poisoning. On the other hand, Vitamin C is an inexpensive, safe and readily available chelating agent, which could be explored for its possible Lead detoxifying potential.

An earlier pilot scale study assessing the role of Vitamin C in reducing body Lead levels of children in Karachi showed that treatment with Vitamin C reduced Lead levels in hair while increased urinary excretion. However, such studies with direct measurement of Lead in blood are expected to give more meaningful outcome and also provide an impetus for expanding the study to adult Lead exposed populations on a larger sample size under controlled conditions.

The current investigation aims to study the effects of Vitamin C supplementation in different doses in reducing body Lead levels by assessing whole blood samples. A total of approximately 300 adult subjects of either sex will be recruited and randomly divided into 3 groups. One group shall serve as control with no treatment. The other two groups will receive 500mg and 1000mg Vitamin C respectively for one month. Blood samples will be collected once before treatment (baseline) and then after 15 days and another after 30 days of treatment. Lead in urine will also be determined for a limited number of samples to assess the possible mode of Lead excretion. Blood levels of Vitamin C and hemoglobin will be determined in a selected set of samples to assess their relationship with the baseline values of Lead. Lead estimation will be carried out in all samples on flameless Zeeman Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The study is likely to have a direct impact on public health.

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Synopsis - Lead detoxifying effect of Vitamin C

Ozma Fazal Khan
ozma.fazal@gmail.com
Aga Khan Hospital
Pharmacist
Lead detoxifying effect of Vitamin C in adult population
Research Area: Pharmacology
Name of Supervisor: Dr Anwar-ul-Hassan Gilani
Submitted for degree of: M.Phil in Pharmacology