Environmental exposure to arsenic is a major public health challenge worldwide. Growing evidence indicates that coal-burning arsenic can cause hepatic oxidative damage. However, the value of Rosa roxburghii Tratt (RRT) with antioxidant properties on arsenic-caused hepatic oxidative damage has never been elucidated yet. In this study, the animals were exposed to coal-burning arsenic (10 mg/kg bw) for 90 days and the result showed a loss of body weight, impaired liver function and liver diseases, increased hepatic oxidative damage and metabolic disorder of multiple elements including selenium, copper, zinc which were related to synthesis of antioxidant enzymes. Another finding is that RRT restored the abnormal liver function and alleviated the procedures of liver diseases of arsenic poisoning rats. In addition, it could also effectively reduce the degree of oxidative damage in serum and liver, and restore the activity of some antioxidant enzymes. Importantly, RRT reversed the content of most disordered elements caused by arsenic in liver and reduced the excretion of several essential elements in urine, including selenium, copper and zinc. Our study provides some limited evidence that RRT can alleviate coal-burning arsenic-induced liver damage induced by regulating elemental metabolic disorders and liver oxidation and antioxidant balance. The study provides a scientific basis for further studies of the causes of the arsenic-induced liver damage, and effective intervention strategies.
