Abstract
Various additives are added to food products to attain the desired properties such as flavor, preservation, and sweetening. The goal of this research was to investigate the biochemical alterations in the rats consuming a food additives mixture (FAM) containing sodium nitrate, fast green, and glycine; and the potential protective impact of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae (A. flos-aquae). Thirty male albino rats were classified into three equal groups (n=10) Group I: the control, group II: FAM; group III: FAM + A. flos-aquae. After 30 days, the biochemical analysis revealed a significant increase in the liver (ALT and AST) and kidney (creatinine and urea) toxicity markers. The FAM significantly increased total cholesterol, triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein. The mixture significantly decreased body weight, high-density lipoprotein, total protein, albumin, globulin, and testosterone. The FAM had no impact on serum glucose, insulin, and thyroid hormones (T3 and T4). A. flos-aquae significantly protected against these biochemical alterations. The current findings showed that A. flosaquae can protect against the severe impacts of a FAM on key biochemical markers.