Acrylamide alters glycogen content and enzyme activities in the liver of juvenile rat

Acrylamide (AA) is spontaneously formed in carbohydrate-rich food during high-temperature processing. It is neurotoxic and potentially cancer causing chemical. Its harmful effects on the liver, especially in a young organism, are still to be elucidated. The study aimed to examine main liver histology, its glycogen content and enzyme activities in juvenile rats treated with 25 or 50 mg/kg bw of AA for 3 weeks. Liver samples were fixed in formalin, routinely processed for paraffin embedding, sectioning and histochemical staining. Examination of haematoxylin and eosin (H&E)-stained sections showed an increase in the volume of hepatocytes, their nuclei and cytoplasm in both AA-treated groups compared to the control. In Periodic acid-Schiff (PAS)-stained sections in low-dose group was noticed glycogen reduction, while in high-dose group was present its accumulation compared to the control, respectively. Serum analysis showed increased activity of aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and decreased activity of alanine aminotransferase (ALT) in both AA-treated groups, while the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP) was increased in low-dose, but decreased in high-dose group compared to the control, respectively. Present results suggest a prominent hepatotoxic potential of AA which might alter the microstructural features and functional status in hepatocytes of immature liver.