Prophylactic effect of the aqueous extract of Pimpinella anisum on the behavior of Wistar rats exposed to mercury

Wafaa Arabi,Narimane Taibi,Djallal E H Adli,Miloud Slimani,Khaled Kahloula,Mostapha Brahmi

doi:10.15835/nsb13110878

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prophylactic effect of Pimpinella anisum (green anis) on neurobehavioral status following mercury chloride intoxication during the developmental period. For this purpose, rats exposed to 100 mg/L of HgCl2 during the gestation and lactation period. A group of rats was treated with the anis extract for 15 days before becoming intoxicated with mercury. In contrast, one group was orally administered aqueous anis extract for 15 days after intoxication. The forced swimming test, the open field test and the Morris pool respectively recorded an increase in immobility time, a decrease in the number of cross-cells (p <0.001), (p <0.05) and an increase in latency (p <0.01), (p <0.001), (p <0.001) and decreased time spent in the target frame during the probe test (p <0.01) and increased latency in the visible test (p <0.01) in HgCl2 - exposed rats compared to control rats. However, preventive and curative aniseed-based treatment reduced the rate of depression, increased locomotor activity and improved learning performance. In conclusion, the aqueous extract of Pimpinella anisum could have a corrective effect on some neurological disorders caused by mercury.

Highlights

Mercury (Hg) is one of the metallic trace elements with unique physico-chemical properties
Rats previously treated with anise extract and rats treated after exposition to mercury had a significantly lower immobility time than rats exposed to mercury (p
Values are expressed as mean ± standard error of the mean (SEM): ***P < 0.001 (Control vs. Hg; Hg vs. EAA-Hg; Hg vs. Hg and treated with aniseed (Hg-EAA))

Summary

Introduction

Mercury (Hg) is one of the metallic trace elements with unique physico-chemical properties. This metal is of public health concern because it poses a high risk to the environment and human health (Bjørklund et al, 2017). It can cause significant changes in most tissues and organs. Due to its perpetual existence in the environment, all living organisms are exposed to mercury in one way or another because it is found in various sources such as seafood, food, water, air, sediment, soil, dental amalgam and vaccines (Chehimi et al, 2012; Hazelhoff et al, 2018). Mercury exposure has been associated with gastrointestinal disorders and cardiovascular disease (Hazelhoff et al, 2018)

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