Study on lead-excretion effect of carambola juice in lead-exposed mice

To test the lead-excretion effect of a carambola juice, 4 groups of mice were exposed to lead in deionized drinking water at 546.22 Pb 2+ mg/L concentration, and 3 of them were additionally administered with carambola juice by gavage at doses of 10.0、20.0 and 40.0 ml/kg BW respectively for 30 days. The mice in a fifth blank control group unexposed to lead were given deionized water. The amounts of water drunk by each group of mice during the experiment were recorded. At the end of the experiment, samples of whole blood, liver and femur were collected for lead detection by atomic absorption spectroscopy. Mice in different lead-exposed groups ingested comparable doses of lead. Treatment with the test substance resulted in significant decrease in blood lead concentration and lead content in liver. The test substance produced no significant effect on lead concentration in femurs. It could be concluded that the carambola juice could promote lead excretion in mice.