The Effect of Aminoguanidine, an Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase Inhibitor, on Alcl3 Toxicity in the Rat Hippocampus

The presented experiment was carried out to determine the effectiveness of the inducible nitric oxide synthase inhibitor aminoguanidine in modulating the toxicity of aluminum chloride on the nitrite levels, malondialdehyde concentration, reduced glutathione content, as well as cytochrome c oxidase activity of Wistar rats. The animals were killed 3 h and 30 days after treatment and the hippocampus was removed. The biochemical results show that aluminum acts as a pro-oxidant, while aminoguanidine exerts an antioxidant action in aluminum chloride-treated animals. We have also applied immunohistochemical techniques to identify iNOS expression after the treatment. Our data suggest that aminoguanidine can be effective in the protection of toxicity induced by aluminum chloride.