THE EFFECTS OF THE CO-ADMINISTRATION OF METHAMPHETAMINE AND VITAMIN C ON THE AMYGDALA OF ADULT MALE WISTAR RATS

Damian Nnabuihe Ezejindu, Joshua Izuchukwu Abugu*, Princewill Sopuluchukwu Udodi, Enemuo Ijeoma, Agulanna Ambrose Echefulachi, Doris Kasarachi Ogbuokiri, Cosmas Nnadozie Ezejindu, Kelechi Magnus Duruh, Samuel Chukwudi Chime, Darlington C. Akukwu and Francis Ndubuisi Nwodo

ABSTRACT

Much attention has been drawn to the toxic effect of meth on humans. However, it is not clear whether or not the toxicity is related to some aspects of the brain like the amygdala, hence the present study is geared towards not only unraveling the toxic effect of meth on the amygdala but also investigating the protective effect of vitamin C against meth induced neurotoxicity. Thirty adult male wistar rats (185-220g) were divided into seven groups. Group A was given feed and water as the control; groups B and C were administered low and high dose of methamphetamine respectively; groups D and E were administered low and high dose of vitamin C respectively; group F was co-administered 5mg/kg body weight of meth and 300mg/kg body weight of vitamin, while group G was co-administered 10mg/kg body weight of meth and 600mg/kg body weight of vitamin C. All treatments were given orally daily for twenty one days. Twenty four hours after the last administration, the animals were anaesthetized under chloroform vapor and dissected, and the brain tissues were harvested through occipito-frontal incision and weighed. Some brain tissues were fixed in phosphate buffered formalin for oxidative stress analysis while others were fixed in 10% neutral buffered formalin for histological studies. The serum levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), glutathione (GSH) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in groups B, C, F and G differed significantly when compared to the control group. Histological observation showed that following administration of vitamin C, there was moderate increase in the number of active granular cells in the amygdala while following the administration of vitamin C to meth induced neurotoxicity, there was moderate regeneration with mild pyknotic granular cells present in the amygdala. The result of this study shows that slight adverse alterations to biomarkers of oxidative stress are associated with the co-use of methamphetamine and vitamin C and no histopathological lesions were found in the amygdala of adult male wistar rats. The findings of this study suggest that vitamin C administered to individuals exposed to methamphetamine could provide some protection against meth toxicity and perhaps ameliorate the effects of meth toxicity on the amygdala.

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