Protective Effect of Nigella Sativa Oil on Hippocampus in Acrylamide-Induced Toxicity in Rats

The aim of this study was to evaluate the possible protective effects of Nigella sativa oil against acylamide-induced toxicity in the hippocampus of rats. For this purpose, Wistar rats were divided into four groups; control (C), acrylamide (ACR), Nigella sativa (NS) and acrylamide+Nigella sativa (ANS). At the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed by cervical dislocation, their brains were removed and their weights were measured. Samples were fixed in 10% formaldehyde, embedded in paraffin, and stained with Kluver Barrera, May- Grünwald-Giemsa, and argyrophilic nucleolar organizer regions (AgNOR). After staining, cell counts were performed in the cornu ammonis 1 (CA1), cornu ammonis 2 (CA2), and cornu ammonis 3 (CA3) and dentate gyrus areas of the hippocampus and AgNOR parameters were evaluated. In the acrylamide-administered group, rats showed a significant decrease in body weight and brain weight (P<0.05), as well as fatigue and gait abnormalities were observed. Besides, acrylamide caused a significant decrease (P<0.05) in the number of neurons in the hippocampus. Contrary to this, Nigella sativa oil supplementation resulted in a significant increase in the number of neurons in the hippocampus (P<0.05), and improved gait abnormalities without affecting body weight and brain weight. It was determined that the relative AgNOR area significantly decreased (P<0.05) in the CA1 and dentate gyrus regions in the ACR group, and significantly increased (P<0.05) in the ANS group compared to the ACR group. In the study, it was determined that acrylamide has a neurotoxic effect and Nigella sativa oil can affect the reduction of the resulting neurotoxic effect.