NIGELLA SATIVA (KALONJI) SEED OIL AMELIORATES THE PANCREATOXIC EFFECTS OF BIFENTHRIN IN MICE.

The aim of the present study was to examine, in mice, the pancreatoxic effects of bifenthrin (Bn) exposure and the rehabilitative capacity of Nigella sativa (NgS) seed oil. The six groups (N=5) of male mice and their treatment regimes were: (i) the negative control (NC) group (0.1 mL corn oil for 14 days); (ii) the positive control (PC) group (0.1 mL corn oil on days 1-6 and 10% v/v NgS oil in corn oil on days 8-14); (iii) and (iv) the Bn2.5 and Bn5 groups (2.5 and 5 mg/kg Bn in 0.1 mL corn oil, respectively, on days 1-7 and 0.1 mL pure corn oil on days 8-14); (v) and (vi) the Bn2.5NgS and Bn5NgS groups (the respective Bn treatments on days 1-7 and 10% NgS oil on days 8- 14). The treatments were given intra-gastrically by gavage. Food and water were provided ad libitum. The pancreas from each animal was recovered for histological examination on day 15. The Bn exposure was found to cause pancreatitis with prominent acinar-to-ductal metaplasia (ADM) with a simultaneous hypotrophy and necrotic lesions of the acini. The mean count of exocrine cells per acinus was significantly lower in the Bn2.5 (9.4±0.38) and Bn5 (8.8±0.47) groups than in the NC (13.1±0.62), PC (14.84±0.79), Bn2.5NgS (11.24±0.68), and Bn5NgS (12.76±0.72) groups. The islets of Langerhans showed hypertrophy in the Bn2.5 group and secondary atrophy in the Bn5 group. However, endocrine cell hyperplasia and a consequential hypertrophy of the islets was seen in both the Bn2.5NgS and Bn5NgS groups. Additionally, pancreatic islet metaplasia was also observed in Bn5NgS group. The micrometry estimations likewise showed a significantly (p=0.05) higher mean crosssectional area (CSA) of the pancreatic islets in the PC (16521±1744 µm2), Bn2.5NgS (16930±1700 µm2), and Bn2.5 (13703±1572 µm2) groups than in the Bn5 (6382±1405 µm2), NC (9464.75±955 µm2), and Bn5NgS (11451±1099 µm2) groups. The mean CSA of the endocrine cells of islets in the Bn2.5 (30.1±1.39µ2) group remained significantly higher than in all the other groups (NC: 23.1±0.83 µm2; PC: 21.6±0.85 µm2; Bn5: 24.4±1.03 µm2; Bn2.5NgS: 25.2±0.95 µm2, and Bn5NgS: 22.1±0.71 µm2). The mean number of cells in the islets/unit area (289 µm2) in the Bn2.5 and Bn5 (141.37±6.3 and 132.03±6.5, respectively) groups remained significantly lower than in the NC (150.89±6.7), PC (174.43±6.6), Bn2.5NgS (172.97±6.4), and Bn5NgS (150.61±6.5) groups. These findings suggest that Bn exposure at levels of 2.5 mg/kg and above for seven or more days can result in exocrine and endocrine pancreatic pathologies and that NgS seed oil helps to ameliorate the tissue damage and restore the structural and functional attributes of the pancreas in mice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]