Pathological and hematological studies on the effect of curcumin on manganese chloride-induced neurotoxicity in rats

The current work was undertaken to evaluate the toxicologic effect of manganese chloride (MnCl2) and potential therapeutic effect of curcumin on male albino rats. Ninety-six rats were divided into three groups. MnCl2 toxicity group (I) included 32 rats were administered (MnCl2) at a dose of 5 mg/ml daily in drinking water orally for 8 weeks. Curcumin-treated group (II) included 32 rats were given (MnCl2) in the same dose and route as the first group. Each rat of this group was treated by oral administration of curcumin in a daily dose 100 mg/kg b.w. The control group (III) included 32 rats. Eight rats were randomly selected from groups I, II and III and sacrificed at (2, 4, 6, and 8 weeks) of experiment. Tissue samples from cerebellum and midbrain of all groups were collected for histopathological examination, and neuromorphometrical analysis as well as blood samples were taken for complete blood picture. The histopathological examination in group I showed Purkinje cell loss in the cerebellum with degeneration of motor neurons in midbrain. In group II, curcumin caused significant increase in number of healthy Purkinje cells in cerebellum with prevalence of healthy motor neurons and minimal vascular alterations in midbrain. The hematological results revealed that animals in group I showed a significant increase in WBCs and platelets compared to other groups, while RBCs count significantly decreased. The number of poikilocyts increased in group I compared to group II and group III. In conclusion, curcumin therapy has a powerful neuroprotective effect in Mncl2 toxicity.