Aged garlic extract ameliorates immunotoxicity, hematotoxicity and impaired burn-healing in malathion- and carbaryl-treated male albino rats

Abstract

Malathion and carbaryl are the most widely used organophosphate and carbamate insecticides, respectively, especially in developing countries; they pose a potential health hazard for both humans and animals. Here, we evaluated the protective effects of an odorless (free from allicin) Kyolic aged garlic extract (AGE, containing 0.1% S-allylcysteine; 200 mg/kg body weight) on the toxicity induced by 0.1 LD50 of malathion (89.5 mg/kg body weight) and/or carbaryl (33.9 mg/kg body weight) in male Wistar rats. Doses were orally administered to animals for four consecutive weeks. The present study showed that AGE completely modulated most adverse effects induced by malathion and/or carbaryl in rats including the normocytic normochromic anemia, immunosuppression, and the delay in the skin-burning healing process through normalizing the count of blood cells (erythrocytes, leucocytes and platelets), hemoglobin content, hematocrit value, blood glucose-6-phosphodehydrogenase activity, weights and cellularity of lymphoid organs, serum γ-globulin concentration, and the delayed type of hypersensitivity response to the control values, and accelerating the inflammatory and proliferative phases of burn-healing. In addition, AGE completely modulated the decrease in serum reduced glutathione (GSH) concentration and the increase in clotting time in malathion alone and carbaryl alone treated rats. Moreover, AGE induced a significant increase (P < 0.001) in serum GSH concentration (above the normal value) and accelerating burn-healing process in healthy rats. In conclusion, AGE was effective in modulating most adverse effects induced in rats by malathion and carbaryl, and hence may be useful as a dietary adjunct for alleviating the toxicity in highly vulnerable people to insecticides intoxication. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Environ Toxicol 32: 789-798, 2017.