The Effects of Various Levels of Boric Acid Supplementation to Drinking Water on Body Weight, Some Biochemical and Antioxidant Parameters of Rat

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TAŞ T. C., GÜMÜŞ R.

Türk Tarım - Gıda Bilim ve Teknoloji dergisi, cilt.14, sa.7, ss.1986-1991, 2026 (TRDizin)

Özet

In this study, the effects of different doses of boric acid (BA) added to the drinking water of rats on body weight, serum antioxidant metabolism, and blood parameters were investigated. A total of 24 female Wistar albino rats, aged 21 days, were used in the study. The experiment was organized into three groups, each consisting of 8 animals: Control, BA-100, and BA-200 groups. The Control group received drinking water with 0 mg/L of BA, the BA-100 group received water containing 100 mg/L of BA, and the BA-200 group received water containing 200 mg/L of BA. The duration of the study was 42 days, including 7 days of adaptation period and 35 days of treatment. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected under anesthesia following the sacrifice of the animals. It was determined that boric acid had no significant effect on body weight (BW) or average weight gain (AWG). Serum levels of total protein, creatinine, total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and high density lipoprotein (HDL) were found to be similar across the Control, BA-100, and BA-200 groups. However, glucose levels were significantly higher in the BA-200 group (354.75 mg/dL), and albumin levels were significantly increased in the BA-100 group (3.23 g/dL). Serum triglyceride levels were significantly lower in the BA-100 (56.00 mg/dL) and BA-200 (59.45 mg/dL) groups compared to the Control group (90.05 mg/dL). No statistically significant differences were observed between the groups in terms of antioxidant parameters, including catalase (CAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities, as well as glutathione (GSH) and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. In conclusion, boric acid added to the rats' drinking water at the indicated doses had no effect on parameters other than body weight, antioxidant metabolism, and serum glucose, albumin, and triglyceride levels.