The role of Garlic and Honey on Nicotine-Induced Toxicity on the Cerebellum of adult Wistar Rats

Abstract

Background Nicotine form the major constituent of consumed tobacco and cigarettes throughout the World resulting in oxidative stress while garlic and honey have been shown to contain numerous natural antioxidants. We investigated the role of combined effects of garlic and honey on nicotine induced Cerebellar and behavioral toxicity in Wistar rats. Method : Forty rats were divided into eight groups of five rats each. Group 1 received water only, Group 2 and 3 received 50 mg/kg of nicotine with garlic and honey at (300 mg/kg and 1000 mg/kg) and (600 mg/kg and 2000 mg/kg) respectively. Group 4 received 50 mg/kg of nicotine only, Group 5 received garlic 300 mg/kg and honey 1000 mg/kg before 50 mg/kg nicotine, Group 6 received garlic 600 mg/kg and honey 2000 mg/kg before 50 mg/kg nicotine. Group 7 and 8 received 50 mg/kg nicotine + 450 mg/kg garlic only and 1500 mg/kg honey only respectively. The administration was through oral route and lasted for 21 days respectively. Limb impairment and grip were conducted. After the administration, blood and cerebellum were harvested for lactate dehydrogenase assay, oxidative stress and histopathological analyses. Result There was significant decrease in body weight, grip strength and limb impairment in Group 4 with increase in Group 2 compared to the Control (p < 0.001). There was significant increase in LDH in Groups 2, 4, 7 and 8 with significant decrease in Group 3 compared to Group 1. The result showed significant decrease in SOD and CAT activities in all the groups compared to Group 1 (p < 0.001). Groups 1, 7 and 8 showed normal histology of the cerebellum while Group 4 showed areas of neuronal degeneration with distortions in histology and Groups 3, 5 and 6 showed few neural changes. Conclusion The study showed that garlic and honey may be useful in ameliorating nicotine toxicity dose-dependently which may be due to their antioxidant activity.