Assessment of Protective Roles of Aqueous Seed Extract of Sour-Sop (Annona muricata) in Cerebellum Following Cadmium-induced Neurotoxicity of Adult Wistar Rats

Cadmium, a deleterious heavy metal that pervades the environment, has the potential to accumulate in the body and cause health complications. In the domain of traditional medicine, medicinal plants have been employed to combat the toxicity of heavy metals and treating of many diseases in traditional medicine.

Aim: To access the protective impact of Annona muricata seed extract on cadmium-triggered neurotoxicity in the cerebellum of albino wistarrat.

Place of Study: Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State between June 2022 and June 2023

METHODOLOGY: After a period of 14 days of acclimatization, 40 healthy male wistar rats were randomly allocated to four groups, group1(2ml/kg of distilled water), group2 cadmium only(2g/kg SC), group3 (2g/kg cadmium + 100mg/kg extract of Annona muricata) and group4(2g/kg cadmium + 200mg/kg extract of Annona muricata) The rats were subjected to cadmium subcutaneously followed by the oral administration of aqueous seed extract of Annona Muricata for fifteen consecutive days.

Results: The impact of the extract on antioxidant enzymes activities of the cerebellum, cerebellar weight, as well as the histology of the cerebellum were scrutinized. The data revealed that the aqueous seed extract of Annona muricata, in a dose-dependent manner, augmented the levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) (P=0.005) and catalase (CAT) (P=0.027) in contrast to the cadmium-only group. The relative weight of the cerebellum exhibited a significant increasein the treated groups compared to the cadmium-only group.

The histology of the cerebellum delineated pathological changes arising from the exposure to cadmium, while Annona muricata brought about regenerative changes.

Conclusion: In summary, the study posits that owing to the presence of phytochemicals in Annona muricata aqueous seed extract, it was efficacious in mitigating the neurotoxicity induced by cadmium in the cerebellum of male rats.