Mercuric chloride (HgCl2) pollution and poisoning has been a worldwide health concern for decades, especially after the industrial revolutions. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of resveratrol in reversing the deleterious effects of HgCl2 exposure to resume the normal functions of hepatocyte. To achieve the study, mature Sprague Dawley rats were assigned to five groups. Negative control group (C) kept without any treatment; vehicle-treated group (D) received dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO); resveratrol-treated group (R), received 100 mg/kg of resveratrol; HgCl2-intoxicated group (HD), received i.p. injection of HgCl2 at a dose of 1 mg/kg for 30 consecutive days along to oral gavage of DMSO; and finally HgCl2-intoxicated group treated with resveratrol (HR) as same treatment strategy of R-group. At the endpoint of the experiment, blood samples were collected for biochemical liver function tests along with serum concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH), body weight, as well as histopathological investigation was done too. Study results revealed a significant (P<0.05) elevation in serum AST, ALP, GGT, and MDA in HD group in comparison with HR group. However, resveratrol treatment has led to a significant (P<0.05) increase in serum levels of GSH in HR group in comparison with the HD group. Histopathological sections showed vacuolar degeneration in HD hepatocytes while resveratrol treatment protected the hepatocytes against the chemical injury. Altogether, It is concluded that resveratrol administration has the ability to increase the resistance of liver against the HgCl2-induced hepatotoxicity via increase the antioxidant yields such as GSH resulted in reduction of hepatocellular texture damage.
