Investigating the protective effects of pectin in poisoning caused by lead pollution in the air

Lead is one of the heavy metals. Humans are exposed to low levels of lead through food, water,contaminated dust and soil, and occupational activities. Lead interferes with various bodyprocesses and is toxic to organs and tissues such as the heart, bones, intestines, kidneys,reproductive system and nervous system. Pectin is a structural heteropolysacharide found inthe cell wall of land plants and is capable of binding to heavy metals, especially lead. The aimof the present study is to investigate the protective effects of pectin in poisoning caused by leadpollution in the air. This article is a review article by searching of Web sites google scholar,SID, pubmed and books and journals on the subject is extracted. Pectin is a sugar-acid derivedpolymer that is obtained from plant gelatin structures found in fruits and vegetables andcontains compounds such as sodium, potassium, ammonium and galacturonic acid salts. Leadpoisoning is a potential factor in brain damage and mental, behavioral problems, anemia,kidney failure, nerve muscle weakness and coma. A blood lead level of ۱۰ μg/dL or above isconsidered to be a cause for concern according to The US Centres for Disease Control andPrevention and The World Health Organization. The amount of lead metal absorption isdetermined by the chemical structure of pectin and increases with decreasing degree ofesterification. It has been confirmed and quantitatively characterized that lead binding to Pectinis driven by the mechanisms of ion exchange with COOH groups, cation substitution withCOOCa۱/۲ groups and coordination bonding with OH groups of methoxylated units.Considering the effects of pectin in increasing the urinary excretion of lead and reducing theconcentration of lead in the blood, it can be useful in cases of lead poisoning.

Keywords:

pectin , poisoning , lead , pollution of air