Dietary Malted Barley Grain Improved Structure and Function of Spinal Cord of Mother Rats fed on a high cholesterol diet.

Osama A. Abbas¹, Hassan I. El-Sayyad²* and Zahraa A. Greash¹

¹Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Port Said Univ, Egypt.

²Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura Univ, Egypt.

Corresponding Author E-mail : elsayyad@mans.edu.eg

DOI : http://dx.doi.org/10.13005/bbra/2814

ABSTRACT: High cholesterol diet is associated cardiovascular disorder and other metabolic diseases represent the public health problem. However, little detail information about its effects on spinal cord structure and function.   Barley is one of the cereal grains rich of nutrients and shows  medicinal importance. The present study assessed its role on hypercholesterolemia induced toxicological aspects on spinal cord.  In the present study,  sixty virgin female and twenty adult male albino rats (Rattus norvegicus) weighing approximately 100±10gm body weight, at ratio of 1 male/3 females were used for experimental work. Virgin females were fed 4 months before matting on a diet containing 3 % cholesterol. The virgin females of both control and hypercholesterolemic females were mated with fertile males (1male/3 females) for overnight and observing sperm in vaginal smears in the next morning for determining onset of gestation. The pregnant  were arranged into 4 groups (n=15) ; control (C), barley supplemented group (B) (10%), hypercholesterolemic-group (H) (3%) and experimental hypercholesterolemic & malted barley group (H+B). Dams of both control and experimental groups were sacrificed post 21 weeks post-partum and their cervical spinal cord were removed. The spinal tissues were processed for histological , immunohistochemical of caspase 3 and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and transmission electron microscopy. In addition, biochemical assessments of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, GSH), malondialdhyde, phospholipids, iron, caspase 4, 8-hdG, neutrotransmitters (DA-5-HT and γABA),cytokines(IL6717), leptin, homocysteine and amyloid–β.  The present findings clarified that dietary supplementation on malted barley for mothers fed on a high cholesterol diet throughout pregnancy and lactation period improved the picture of neurons at light and ultrastructural level, restored myelination and reduced caspase 3 and GFAP immunohistochemistry. At the levels of the assessed biomarkers, the malted barley restored the levels of the assayed of both the antioxidant enzymes and neurotransmitters and phospholipids and reduced the high level of caspase 3, 8-hdG, cytokines,leptin,homocysteine, amyloid–β and iron.Thus , the malted barley can be used in combination with other pharmaceutical drugs in improvement or prevention the neurotoxicity due to elevated blood cholesterol level.

KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular Disorder; High Cholesterol Diet; Immunohistochemistry; Metabolic Diseases; Toxicological Aspects

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