In vitro (cytotoxicity, genotoxicity, and anti-inflammatory action) and invivo evaluation (toxicity and metallome analyzes) of chromium picolinate
Chromium; chromium III; micronucleus test; body weight; Supplement
Chromium picolinate (PICCr) is a complex made up of three picolinic acid residues (in salt form) linked by coordination to a chromium III atom. PICCr intake is associated with improved mood, appetite, regulation of glucose and cholesterol, weight loss, which leads to its indication as an adjunct in the treatment of several disorders. Some of the properties of PICCr are attractive to sportsmen and other groups of people seeking higher performance and/or weight loss. Studies on the toxicity of PICCr are not abundant, about a dozen, and show that PICCr is a safe compound. However, it has been observed that the use of chromium picolinate has become indiscriminate and the amount consumed sometimes reaches 10 times the recommended by the World Health Organization. What is worrying, since there is no data on consumption of compounds in such high doses. Therefore, in this work four cell lines: murine macrophages (RAW-264), Chinese hamster ovary cells (CHO-K1), murine fibroblast (3T3), human hepatic adecarcinoma cells (HepG2) were exposed to high concentrations of PICCr. CHO, 3T3 and HepG2 were found to have their ability to reduce MTT (3- (4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl) 2,5-diphenyl tetrazole) dropped to 50 up to 80%. However, RAW cells were not affected, including PICCr was able to inhibit the stimulation of nitric oxide release when exposed to bacterial wall liposaccharides (LPS). In addition, HepG2 cells when exposed to PICCr (20 to 50 µg / mL) had micronucleus numbers significantly like cells that were not exposed to PICCr. Rats were exposed to high doses of CrIP (1000 and 2000 mg / per gram of animal) for 15 days. After this period, treated animals had significantly lower weight gain and decreased plasma cholesterol levels. They did not present macroscopic or histological changes in the hepatic and renal tissues. Treated animals were also found to have 50% decrease in serum plasma iron levels. However, metallomic analyzes show that iron levels in hepatic and renal tissues were not affected. PICCr showed cell type dependent cytotoxicity and has no genotoxicity. In addition, no signs of toxicity of PICCr have been identified when administered at high doses in rats, showing a certain level of safety of high consumption of this compound. However, human studies are needed to confirm these observations. Two new properties of PICCr not yet described in the literature were identified: anti-inflammatory activity and ability to decrease serum iron levels. These findings may spur future studies to better understand these effects and add economic and pharmacological value to the PICCr.