ROLE OF COPPER AND ZINC SUPPLEMENTATION ON IMMUNITY OF ANIMALS EXPOSED TO LEAD AND CADMIUM: A REVIEW

Lead and cadmium are the common environmental heavy metal pollutants and have widespread distribution. Both natural and anthropogenic sources including mining, smelting and other industrial processes are responsible for human and animal exposure. These pollutants, many a times, are co-pollutants leading to concurrent exposure to living beings and resultant synergistic deleterious health effects. Several mechanisms have been explained for the damaging effects on the body immune system. Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathogenesis of the lead and cadmium induced pathotoxicity. Several ameliorative measures to counteract the oxidative damage to the body system during exposure to these toxicants have been assessed with the use of antioxidants in the past one decade. The present review focuses on mechanism of lead and cadmium induced oxidative damages and the ameliorative effect of Cu and Zn supplementation on immune status of animals.