The possible alleviating effect of garlic supplement on the neural retina in a rat model of hypercholesterolemia: a histological and immunohistochemical study

Submitted: 4 September 2021
Accepted: 1 December 2021
Published: 16 December 2021
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The purpose of this work was to prove that oxidative stress is the main mechanism responsible for retinal neurodegenerative changes, subsequent apoptosis, and inflammatory cytokine release in rats fed with a high cholesterol diet (HCD) and determine the role of garlic in alleviating these changes. Forty rats were equally divided into four groups: control, garlic-treated (positive control), HCD, and HCD + garlic-treated (HCD + G). By the end of the experiment (24 weeks) blood samples were collected for assessment of serum lipid profile, oxidative stress parameters, and plasma levels of IL-6 and TNF-α. Both eyes of the rats were enucleated; one was used for light microscopic examination and the other for electron microscopic examination. There was a significant increase in the levels of serum lipids, oxidative stress parameters, IL-6 and TNF-α, and area of expression of caspase-3 in the HCD group compared to both the control and HCD + G groups. Histological examination revealed degenerative changes in all layers of the neural retina in the HCD group. Garlic administration resulted in a significant improvement in the biochemical, immunohistochemical, and histological characteristics of hypercholesterolemic rats. These findings support the hypotheses that garlic has strong antioxidant, anti-apoptotic, and anti-inflammatory properties. Garlic ameliorates the neurodegenerative changes in the neural retina of hypercholesteremic rats.

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Eman M.I. Youssef, Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Medicine, Al-Azhar University, Cairo

Department of Biochemistry, College of Medicine, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia

How to Cite

Arafat, E. A., Youssef, E. M., & Khalaf, H. A. (2021). The possible alleviating effect of garlic supplement on the neural retina in a rat model of hypercholesterolemia: a histological and immunohistochemical study. European Journal of Histochemistry, 65(4). https://doi.org/10.4081/ejh.2021.3322

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