Biological prevention of toxic effects of lead, mercury, fluorine, arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene

Introduction. The activities of a number of industrial enterprises in various regions of the Russian Federation are the cause of contamination of soil, water resources, and air with a multicomponent mixture of chemicals, which in turn negatively affects the health of citizens and dictates the need to find ways to increase the body's resistance to their harmful effects.

The study aims to develop and experimentally test a bioprophylactic complex on laboratory animals aimed at increasing the body's resistance to the harmful combined effects of lead, mercury, fluorine, arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene.

Materials and methods. The researchers used 60 outbred white female rats of early age in the experiment. The irradiation was performed using intraperitoneal injections of a solution containing mercury, fluorine, arsenic and lead in a ratio of 1:450:70:450, 3 times a week for 6 weeks. Benzo(a)pyrene was sorbed for alumina and was injected into animals intratracheal once on the first day of the experiment at a dose of 10 mg in 1 ml of isotonic 0.9% sodium chloride solution.

Results. The authors experimentally have demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed bioprophylactic complex (BPC) aimed at reducing the toxic effects of a combination of lead, mercury, fluorine, arsenic and benzo(a)pyrene. Many functional and morphological signs of intoxication were significantly weakened by taking a complex of bioprotectors against the background of exposure.

Limitations. A limited number of studied indicators were selected based on the set goal and the expediency of using methods to assess the toxicity of the studied substances and the effectiveness of BPC. The authors have conducted a study using laboratory animals of the same sex and age, which does not allow assessing the toxicity of the studied combination of substances and the effect of biological prevention, taking into account gender and age differences. The authors were also limited in the widespread use of research methods in the framework of the experiment.

Conclusion. The experimental results indicate an increase in the elimination of the studied harmful substances from the body under the action of bioprotectors. However, the assessment of the effectiveness of biological prevention measures for the combined toxic effects of harmful substances requires further study.

Ethics. The experiment was approved by the local Bioethics Commission of the Yekaterinburg Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers (Protocol No. 55A of 2014).

Contributions:
Sutunkova M.P. — collecting material and data processing, editing the article, writing the text;
Nikogosyan K.M. — writing, editing;
Minigalieva I.A. — concept and design of the study;
All co-authors — approving the final version of the article and ensuring the integrity of all parts of the article.

Funding. The study had no funding.

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Received: 13.03.2026 / Accepted: 24.03.2026 / Published: 25.04.2026

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