Protective Effect of Nigella Sativa Oil on Hippocampus in Acrylamide-Induced Toxicity in Rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of Nigella sativa oil against acylamide-induced toxicity in the hippocampus of rats. For this purpose, Wistar rats were divided into four groups; control (C), acrylamide (ACR), Nigella sativa (NS) and acrylamide+Nigella sativa (ANS). At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, their brains were removed and their weights were measured. Samples were fixed in 10% formaldehyde, embedded in paraffin, and stained with Kluver Barrera, MayGrunwald-Giemsa, and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR). After staining, cell counts were performed in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1), cornu ammonis 2 (CA2), and cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) and dentate gyrus areas of the hippocampus and AgNOR parameters were evaluated. In the acrylamide-administered group, rats showed a significant decrease in body weight and brain weight (P<0.05), as well as fatigue and gait abnormalities were observed. Besides, acrylamide caused a significant decrease (P<0.05) in the number of neurons in the hippocampus. Contrary to this, Nigella sativa oil supplementation resulted in a significant increase in the number of neurons in the hippocampus (P<0.05), and improved gait abnormalities without affecting body weight and brain weight. It was determined that the relative AgNOR area significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the CA1 and dentate gyrus regions in the ACR group, and significantly increased (P<0.05) in the ANS group compared to the ACR group. In the study, it was determined that acrylamide has a neurotoxic effect and Nigella sativa oil can affect the reduction of the resulting neurotoxic effect.

Automated summary

This study aimed to evaluate the protective effects of Nigella sativa oil against acrylamide-induced toxicity in the rat hippocampus. The findings showed that Nigella sativa oil supplementation increased the number of neurons in the hippocampus and improved gait abnormalities.