- About this Journal
- Abstracting and Indexing
- Aims and Scope
- Annual Issues
- Article Processing Charges
- Articles in Press
- Author Guidelines
- Bibliographic Information
- Citations to this Journal
- Contact Information
- Editorial Board
- Editorial Workflow
- Free eTOC Alerts
- Publication Ethics
- Reviewers Acknowledgment
- Submit a Manuscript
- Subscription Information
- Table of Contents
Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity
Volume 2012 (2012), Article ID 697541, 10 pages
doi:10.1155/2012/697541
Monocrotaline: Histological Damage and Oxidant Activity in Brain Areas of Mice
1Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Rua Coronel Nunes de Melo, 1127-60430-270 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
2Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Federal University of Paraiba, João Pessoa 58051-970, PB, Brazil
3School of Medicine, University of Fortaleza (UNIFOR), Rua Desembargador Floriano Benevides Magalhães, 221 3° Andar, 60811-690 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
4Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy, Odontology and Nursing, Federal University of Ceará, Rua Capitão Francisco Pedro 1210, 60431-327 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil
5Department of Morphology, School of Medicine, Federal University of Ceará, Rua Delmiro de Farias s/n, Rodolfo Teófilo, Fortaleza, 60416-030, CE, Brazil
6School of Pharmacy, University of Otago, P.O. Box 913, Dunedin 9016, New Zealand
Received 3 September 2012; Revised 30 October 2012; Accepted 31 October 2012
Academic Editor: Christopher Horst Lillig
Copyright © 2012 José Eduardo Ribeiro Honório Junior et al. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
This work was designed to study MCT effect in histopathological analysis of hippocampus (HC) and parahippocampal cortex (PHC) and in oxidative stress (OS) parameters in brain areas such as hippocampus (HC), prefrontal cortex (PFC), and striatum (ST). Swiss mice (25–30 g) were administered a single i.p. dose of MCT (5, 50, or 100 mg/kg) or 4% Tween 80 in saline (control group). After 30 minutes, the animals were sacrificed by decapitation and the brain areas (HC, PHC, PFC, or ST) were removed for histopathological analysis or dissected and homogenized for measurement of OS parameters (lipid peroxidation, nitrite, and catalase) by spectrophotometry. Histological evaluation of brain structures of rats treated with MCT (50 and 100 mg/kg) revealed lesions in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex compared to control. Lipid peroxidation was evident in all brain areas after administration of MCT. Nitrite/nitrate content decreased in all doses administered in HC, PFC, and ST. Catalase activity was increased in the MCT group only in HC. In conclusion, monocrotaline caused cell lesions in the hippocampus and parahippocampal cortex regions and produced oxidative stress in the HC, PFC, and ST in mice. These findings may contribute to the neurological effects associated with this compound.