Comparative effects of scopoletin and cyanide on rat brain, 1: histopathology.

Four week old male Wistar rats were used to study the effects of scopoletin and cyanide on the histopathology of rat brain. The rats were divided into a control and three experimental groups (2-4) and fed rations containing 0.07 microg scopoletin/100 g, 0.07 microg scopoletin + 1.8 mg cyanide/100 g and 1.8 mg cyanide/100 g, respectively. These levels of scopoletin and cyanide corresponded to levels found in a processed cassava diet. The first group was fed the same ration as the others but without scopoletin and cyanide. The rats were fed these rations for twelve months. Rats from each group were sacrificed at the third, sixth, ninth and twelfth months; the relative brain weight of the rats (% of body weight) and histology of their brains were studied. The lipid peroxide levels of the rat brains were also studied at the twelfth month. The results showed that the relative brain weights of the rats fed scopoletin + cyanide were significantly (p<0.05) less than that of the control from the third month. There were no significant changes in the lipid peroxide levels of the rat brains in the various groups. Histological examination of the brains of the rats suggested that scopoletin is involved in the pathogenesis of the neuropathy seen in cassava consuming populations.