Akingbemi B T, Aire T A, Oke B O, Onwuka S K, Ogwuegbu S O
Department of Veterinary Anatomy, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
J Comp Pathol. 1996 Jul;115(1):13-22. doi: 10.1016/s0021-9975(96)80024-7.
The toxicity of gossypol, a compound occurring naturally in the cotton plant, was investigated in Trypanosoma brucei-infected, gossypol-treated rats, with and without protein malnutrition. The liver, heart, lungs, spleen and adrenal glands were enlarged in all gossypol-treated rats. Gossypol treatment or trypanosome infection, either alone or together, invariably caused significant reductions in the serum activity of creatine phosphokinase and amylase and in the serum concentration of cortisol. The serum biochemical changes, together with histopathological findings in various organs, indicated that the toxicity of gossypol and pathology of trypanosome infection, either alone or in concert, could be exacerbated by protein malnutrition. This finding suggests that the previously reported antiparasitic properties of gossypol may be of little ultimate benefit due to these serious side effects. The spleen in the protein-malnourished, trypanosome-infected and gossypol-treated animals exhibited only a slight decrease in the number of lymphatic nodules, but a marked cellular depletion, especially of cortical tissue, was observed in the thymus. These observations would seem to justify further study of the immune status of trypanosome-infected, gossypol-treated animals.
对感染布氏锥虫且接受棉酚治疗的大鼠，在有或无蛋白质营养不良的情况下，研究了天然存在于棉花植株中的化合物棉酚的毒性。所有接受棉酚治疗的大鼠肝脏、心脏、肺、脾脏和肾上腺均肿大。单独或共同进行棉酚治疗或锥虫感染，均会导致肌酸磷酸激酶和淀粉酶的血清活性以及皮质醇的血清浓度显著降低。血清生化变化以及各器官的组织病理学发现表明，蛋白质营养不良会加剧棉酚的毒性以及锥虫感染的病理学变化。这一发现表明，由于这些严重的副作用，先前报道的棉酚的抗寄生虫特性可能最终益处不大。蛋白质营养不良、感染锥虫且接受棉酚治疗的动物脾脏中，淋巴小结数量仅略有减少，但胸腺中观察到明显的细胞耗竭，尤其是皮质组织。这些观察结果似乎证明有必要进一步研究感染锥虫且接受棉酚治疗的动物的免疫状态。
