Diazinon (DZN), a common organophosphorus insecticide (OPI), has hazardous effect to human and animals with its ubiquitous
use. Considering the implication of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in the OPIs toxicity, the present study was aimed to evaluate
the ameliorative properties of basil (BO) and sesame (SO) seed oils against the toxic effect of DZN. Forty adult male albino rats
were divided into four experimental groups (n = 10 rats/group); control, DZN (10 mg/kg b.w/day), DZN + BO (5 ml/kg b.w/day),
and DZN + SO (8 ml/kg b.w/day) groups, treated for a period of 4 weeks. DZN-exposed animals showed significant elevation in
serum alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), blood urea nitrogen (BUN), and creatinine (Cr) with a
significant decline in testosterone level compared with control. On the other hand, DZN + BO and DZN + SO groups revealed
significant decreases in ALT, AST, BUN, and Cr with a significant increase in testosterone level when compared with DZNexposed
animals. Oxidative/antioxidant indices revealed significant increases of malondialdehyde (MDA) levels along with
significant decreases of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (Gpx), and catalase (CAT) activities among
DZN-treated rats compared with control. Distinctly lower levels of MDA and increased activities of SOD, Gpx, and CAT were
evident in both DZN + BO and DZN + SO groups when compared with DZN-exposed animals. Inflammatory and immunomodulatory
markers assessment showed a significant increase in TNF-α with a significant decline in IL-10 level in DZN group;
meanwhile, both DZN + BO and DZN + SO groups revealed significant declines in levels of TNF-α with significant increases in
IL-10. Corresponds immunohistochemistry, the total scores (TS) of TNF-α immunostainings in hepatorenal, testicular, and
epididymal tissues of control, DZN + BO and DZN + SO groups were significantly lower than those values of DZN group.
Additionally, the examined tissues of DZN + BO group revealed significant lower TS of TNF-α immunostaining compared with
DZN + SO group. The overall data suggested that both BO and SO can be efficiently used as preventive herbal compounds
against DZN-induced oxidative stress with special reference to their possible antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and free radical
activities. However, BO has more potent protective effect against DZN-induced tissue injury at both immunohistochemical and
molecular levels. |
