Diazinon-induced brain toxicity and protection by vitamins E plus C.

Diazinon (DI) is a widely used pesticide in agriculture, resulting in environmental deleterious effects on neural systems. The current study was performed to investigate the effects of treatment with vitamins E plus C on brain toxicity, which is possibly induced by DI. Twenty-one male rats were divided into three groups (n = 7/group) as follows: (1) control group (C); (2) DI-treated group (DI); (3) DI + vitamins E plus C-treated group (DI + Vit). In order to examine lipid peroxidation and antioxidant status in rats, the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), activities of two free radical scavanging enzymes superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) have been studied in brain of rat. The results showed that treatment with DI induced significant (p < 0.05) increases in the level of serum MDA in rat brain. The vitamins E plus C combination reduced lipid peroxidation in rat brain. The activity of SOD level was significantly higher in DI + Vit group, compared to the control group. GSH-Px, SOD and CAT values were not significantly different in the DI group than in control. Oxidative stress contributes to DI-induced brain toxicity. Our results suggested that vitamins E plus C combination may have a protective effect on DI-induced brain toxicity.