Protective Effect of Curcumin Against Imidacloprid-Induced Genotoxicity in Rats

Abstract

Aim: To study the effect of curcumin in imidacloprid (IMI)-induced genotoxicity by comet and micronucleus assays.

Materials and Methods: Experiments were conducted on adult rats that were randomly divided into six groups of six rats as follows: Group 1: Sham; Group 2: Curcumin (50 mg/kg po); Group 3: IMI (20 mg/kg po); Group 4: IMI (40 mg/kg po); Group 5: IMI (20 mg/kg po) + curcumin (50 mg/kg po); and Group 6: IMI (40 mg/kg po) + curcumin (50 mg/kg po). Micronucleus and comet assays were used to study the DNA damage in all the groups.

Results: There was a significant (P < 0.05) increase in the comet tail length (μm) and the frequency of micronuclei formation in the Group 4 treated with 40 mg/kg IMI when compared to other groups. Curcumin treatment in Group 6 showed a significant (P < 0.05) decrease in the comet tail length, and micronuclei as compared to Group 4 though the decrease was significantly (P < 0.05) low as compared to other groups.

Conclusions: This study revealed that IMI has a tendency to induce the genotoxicity on exposure to 40 mg/kg b.wt. Curcumin, due to its anti-oxidant and anti-mutagenic property, alleviated the genotoxicity induced by IMI.