Abstract
The herbicide “Roundup” is used extensively in agriculture to control weeds. However, by translocation, it can be deposited in plants, their proceeds, and the soil, thus provoking organ toxicities in exposed individuals. Neurotoxicity among others is one of the side effects of roundup which has led to an increasing global concern about the contamination of food by herbicides. Xylopia aethiopica is known to have medicinal properties due to its antioxidative and anti-inflammatory properties, and it is hypothesized to neutralize roundup-induced neurotoxicity. Thirty-six (36) Wistar rats were used for this study. The animals were shared equally into six groups with six rats each. Glyphosate administration to three of the six groups was done orally and for 1 week. Either Xylopia aethiopica or vitamin C was co-administered to two of the three groups and also administered to two other groups and the final group served as the control. Our studies demonstrated that glyphosate administration led to a significant decrease in antioxidants such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione, and glutathione peroxidase. We also observed a significant increase in inflammatory markers such as tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin 6, C-reactive protein, and immunohistochemical expression of caspase-3, cox-2, and p53 proteins (p < 0.05). However, Xylopia aethiopica co-administration with glyphosate was able to ameliorate the aforementioned changes when compared to the control (p < 0.05). Degenerative changes were also observed in the cerebellum, hippocampus, and cerebral cortex upon glyphosate administration. These changes were not observed in the groups treated with Xylopia aethiopica and vitamin C. Taken together, Xylopia aethiopica could possess anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory properties that could be used in combating glyphosate neurotoxicity.
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Abbreviations
- CAT:
-
Catalase
- GPx:
-
Glutathione peroxidase
- AcHE:
-
Acetylcholinesterase
- GSH:
-
Glutathione
- SOD:
-
Superoxide dismutase
- BcHE:
-
Butyrylcholinesterase
- IHC:
-
Immunohistochemistry
- GSH:
-
Reduced glutathione
- CRP:
-
c-reactive protein
- GLY:
-
Glyphosate
- TNF-α:
-
Tumor necrosis factor-α
- IL-6:
-
Interleukin-6
- VIT:
-
C-vitamin C
- COX-2:
-
Cyclooxygenase-2
- Caspase-3:
-
Cysteine-rich aspartic protease 3
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The authors would like to appreciate the faculty members and technical staff of the Department of Biochemistry, Osun State University, Osogbo for their kind support.
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OOA: supervision, conceptualization, methodology, review and editing. OAA: initial draft, review, editing and data analysis. IOB: study design, performed the experiments, acquisition and analysis of data, and drafted the manuscript. AOA: review and editing.
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All procedures performed in studies involving animals were following the declaration of Helsinki as described by the College of Health Sciences ethical approval committee at Osun State University, Osogbo (UNIOSUN/HREC/2021/003C). The handling and use of all laboratory animals were following the NIH Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals.
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Adewale, O.O., Adebisi, O.A., Ojurongbe, T.A. et al. Xylopia aethiopica suppresses markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, and cell death in the brain of Wistar rats exposed to glyphosate. Environ Sci Pollut Res 30, 60946–60957 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26470-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-023-26470-y