Background: Mercury is a toxic metal which participate in the environmental pollution. Toxic dose of mercury cause various diseases such as cardiovascular and mental with not fully understood mechanism. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of Mercury in serum lipid oxidizability.

Material and Methods: In this in vitro experimental study, serum pools of healthy subjects were prepared and divided into six fractions. Mercury concentration in five fractions increased to 20, 30, 50, 200, 700 nM and the sixth fraction was considered as a control. Samples were incubated at 37° C for 24 hours and serum lipid oxidation was followed by monitoring of the absorbance change at 245nm in diluted serum after the addition of Cu2+. A number of quantitative parameters including lag-time, maximal rate of oxidation (V-max), and maximal amount of lipid peroxide products (OD-max) were evaluated.

Results: Lag-time in all concentrations of the experiment 20, 30, 50, 200, 700 nM were (18.7±.95), (18.5±0.57), (18.5±0.57), (24.2±2.9) and (14.7±2.7), respectively which decreased compared to the control (33±2.4) and V-max in 700nM (43.7±1.2) increased compared to the control (40±1.15, P<0.05).

Conclusion: Results show that Mercury in all experimental concentrations whether tolerable or toxic causes accelerating serum lipid oxidation. According to its transmission special attention should be given to this metal.