A Potential Antidotal Effect of Datura stramonium Seeds on the Toxicity of Malathion Insecticide in Rats

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to determine the antidotal effect of Datura stramonium aqueous seed extract (DSE) in treatment of toxicity of malathion. Twenty-five albino rats were evenly divided into five groups including the control. The control group (5) and the other four groups (1, 2, 3 and 4) received initially 500 mg/kg body weight of malathion. After ½ an hour, groups 2, 3, and 4 received 5, 7.5 mg/kg of DSE and 17 mg/kg atropine sulphate, respectively; this treatment was repeated after 4 hours, and group 5 was left as unintoxicated, untreated (control). Blood samples were collected three times, after ½ an hour of the first treatment, after ½ an hour of the second treatment and after 24 hours. In the treated groups, the level of the enzyme cholinesterase significantly increased towards the normal level, while the levels of ALT, AST and ALP significantly decreased. The rats were sacrificed after 24 hours, and tissue specimens were processed for histopathology. The result of histopathology showed normal internal organs in the groups dosed with 7.5 mg/kg DSE and the group treated with the drug. The groups treated with 5 mg/kg DSE showed mild toxicity in the internal organs and slightly high levels of serum enzymes. The malathion group (untreated) showed typical signs of toxicity in the internal organs and high level of serum enzymes. The study concluded that the dose of 7.5 mg/kg DSE possesses antidotal effect against malathion toxicity and has the same effect of atropine sulphate in treatment of toxicity and indicates that the protective action of DSE against the insecticide tested was dose dependant. This effect is most probably due to the presence of the atropinelike alkaloids in D. stramonium that may possess central anticholinergic effects which minimize the action of acetylcholine at muscarinic receptor.