Efficacy of Myrrh Extract "Mirazid®" to Reduce Lead Acetate Toxicity in Albino Rats with Special Reference to Cerebellum and Testes

Lead is a ubiquitous environmental and industrial pollutant with a worldwide health problems. A total fifty adult male albino rats were equally divided into five groups to evaluate the toxic effects of lead acetate on liver, kidneys, brain and testes of albino rats, besides assessing the efficacy of myrrh extract in reducing these toxic changes. Group (1) was left without treatment. Each rats in group (2) was orally given 2 ml distilled water. Each rats in group (3) was given 20 mg lead acetate / kg B.wt. Each rats in group (4) was given 500 mg myrrh-extract / kg B.wt. Each rats in group (5) was simultaneously given similar doses of lead acetate and myrrh-extract as those given to groups (3&4). Treatments of groups (1-5) were administered daily by stomach tube for 3 months. At the end of the experimental period, all rats were sacrificed, necropsied and the gross lesions were recorded. Moreover, specimens were collected from the liver, kidneys, ,brain and testes of groups(1-5) and prepared for histopathological examination and morphometrical analysis of cerebellum and testes.. Histopathological examination of group (3) showed degenerative and necrotic changes in the hepatic and renal cells. Interstitial and perivascular aggregations of lymphocytes and hyperplasia of epithelial lining of some bile ducts with newly formed bile ductules were detected . Some hepatocytes and renal cells showed karyomegaly and cytomegaly with presence of eosinophilic intranuclear inclusion bodies. The brain revealed congestion, degenerated neurons, satellitosis, neuronophagia, encephalomalacia and coagulative necrosis of Purkinje cell. The testes showed interstitial edema among degenerated seminiferous tubules. The previous changes in cerebellum and testes were supported by the morphometric results which revealed a significant reduction of the mean thickness of the Purkinje cell layer when compared with the control rats. A significant decrease (p<0.001) of the width of germinal epithelial layer of the affected seminiferous tubules and number of Sertoli cells, spermatogonia and primary spermatocytes was detected. Group (5) showed marked amelioration of the encountered lesions in group (3). It could be concluded that, the adverse effects, induced by lead acetate, were markedly ameliorated by co-treatment with myrrh extract. [Nahla AG Ahmed Refat and Marwa A Abass, Efficacy of Myrrh Extract "Mirazid®" to Reduce Lead Acetate Toxicity in Albino Rats with Special Reference to Cerebellum and Testes] Life Science Journal,. 2011; 8(4): 406-414] (ISSN: 1097-8135). http://www.lifesciencesite.com.