Biochemical and Histological Evaluation of Chronic Alcohol Administration in Wistar rats

Alcohol is consumed worldwide as a drink by humans. Regular and unlimited use of alcohol leads to toxicity and alcohol-induced pathological problems and can constitute a menace in the society. This study was aimed at evaluating the effects of chronic alcohol administration on antioxidant and histology of cerebral cortices in Wistar rats. Thirty-two (32) adult Wistar rats of both sexes were divided into 4 experimental groups with 8 animals (4 males and 4 females housed separately) in each group: Group 1 serve as control administered with 1 ml of distilled water, Group 2 was administered with 0.12g/kg, Group 3 was administered with 0.16g/kg and group 4 was administered with 0.24g/kg of alcohol respectively for 11 weeks orally. No significant difference was obtained between the control and the groups administered with alcohol in all the antioxidant markers in males and females Wistar rats and histological study revealed no histo-architecture distortion in the cerebral cortices of the treated group compared to control in male Wistar rats while distortion in the histo-architecture in the group 4(0.24g/kg bw of ethanol) compared to the control group in female Wistar rats. in conclusion, chronic daily oral administration of lose dose of alcohol does not significantly increase the production of reactive oxygen species which can cause oxidative damage in male and female Wistar rats. It also causes loss of neuronal processes of the cerebral cortices of female Wistar.

Key Words: Alcohol, Reduced glutathione, Catalase, Superoxide dismutase, Malonaldehyde