Identification of brain areas sensitive to the toxic effects of sparteine.
Sparteine is one of the most toxic quinolizidine alkaloids found in leguminous plants. Several studies have demonstrated that sparteine affects the nervous system, blocking the nervous ganglion, producing antimuscarinic effects, depressing the central nervous system and causing neuronal necrosis. However, there are no reports identifying the areas of the brain that are sensitive to the toxic effects of this alkaloid. 32 adult Wistar rats were on study, sixteen were implanted with an intracerebral stainless steel cannula and randomly assigned to a control or experimental group (n=8). Animals, control and experimental, received daily intraventricular (ICV) injections of a sparteine or a sterile water solution for five consecutive days. Additionally, two groups of animals (8 rats each) received daily intraperotineal injections (IP) of a sparteine or sterile water solution for five consecutive days. 72h after the last dose, the animals were sacrificed, their brains removed, fixed and embedded in paraffin to obtain 10μm tissue slices. Brain slices were stained with H&E and evaluated under a light microscope. The main brain structures sensitive to sparteine were the cerebral cortex (frontal, fronto-parietal and striate) olfactory and amygdaloid areas, the ventromedial hypothalamic nucleus, the Purkinje cells in the cerebellum, and the CA1, CA3 and dentate gyrus regions of the hippocampus. Administration of sparteine, via ICV or IP, caused neuronal necrosis in brain structures, mainly related with cholinergic pathways.
Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
T
T
Meraz Medina
Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Jacinto
J
Bañuelos Pineda
Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Carmen Cecilia
CC
Gómez Rodiles
Departamento de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Salvador Jiménez
SJ
Vallejo
Departamento de Botánica y Zoología, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico.
Ricardo Solís
RS
Zamora
Departamento de Botánica y Zoología, Universidad de Guadalajara, Mexico. Electronic address: pgarcia@cucba.udg.mx.
Pedro Macedonio
PM
García López
D000818:Animals; D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000633:toxicity*; D001921:Brain / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000473:pathology*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D008297:Male; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013034:Sparteine / Q000633:toxicity*
D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents; D013034:Sparteine
Brain; Intracranial administration; Quinolizidine alkaloids; Sparteine toxicity