The Effects of Gum arabic, Curcumin (Curcuma longa) and Garcinia kola on the Rat Hippocampus after Electromagnetic Field Exposure

Journal of chemical neuroanatomy · 2021 · Harm · Low evidence

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HarmLow evidencePaper 956

Study snapshot

PublicationJournal of chemical neuroanatomy · 2021

Study typeanimal

Reported directionHarm

Evidence ratingLow

Abstract

The Effects of Gum arabic, Curcumin (Curcuma longa) and Garcinia kola on the Rat Hippocampus after Electromagnetic Field Exposure Abdalla Ahmed Eldaw Elamin, Omur Gulsum Deniz, Suleyman Kaplan. The Effects of Gum arabic, Curcumin (Curcuma longa) and Garcinia kola on the Rat Hippocampus after Electromagnetic Field Exposure: A Stereological and Histological Study. J Chem Neuroanat. 2021 Dec 13;102060. doi: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2021.102060. Abstract The present study was designed to focus on the potential effects of the electromagnetic field (EMF) emitted by mobile phones on hippocampal pyramidal neurons and to investigate the role of curcumin (Cur), Garcinia kola (GK) and Gum arabic (GA) in reducing these adverse effects. Fifty-four 12-week-old male Wistar albino rats were used. These were randomly divided into nine groups of six rats each. The control, Cur, GK and GA groups were not exposed to EMF, while the sham group was kept in the EMF exposure system without being exposed to EMF. The EMF+Cur, EMF+GK, EMF+GA and EMF groups were exposed to 900MHz EMF for one hour a day for 28 days. The number of the pyramidal neurons in the cornu ammonis (CA) of the hippocampus was estimated using the optical fractionator technique. Histopathological changes were evaluated under light and electron microscopes. The activities of the superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) enzymes were also evaluated from serum samples. Significant levels of CAT and SOD activities were observed in the EMF group compared to the control group (p=0.000; p=0.001) respectively. Microscopic observations showed that dark-coloured nuclei with unclear neuron boundaries were frequently observed in the EMF group. Stereological data analysis revealed a significant decrease in the CA's total number of pyramidal neurons in the EMF group compared to the control and sham groups (p=0.000; p=0.000) respectively. Cur and GK were observed to provide significant protection in the EMF+Cur and EMF+GK groups compared to the EMF group (p=0.000; p=0.000) respectively. No significant difference was observed between the EMF+GA group and EMF group (p=0.989). Exposure to 900MHz EMF causes severe alterations in the number and structure of hippocampal pyramidal neurons. Cur and GK exhibit a protective effect against these deleterious effects, but GA showed no protective effect. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

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AI evidence extraction

Structured fields below were generated from the paper’s abstract and metadata to make the evidence easier to inspect. Automated extraction may be incomplete or incorrect; verify important details against the original paper.

Study typeanimal

Effect directionharm

Population12-week-old male Wistar albino rats

Sample size54

ExposureRF · 900 MHz · 1 hour/day for 28 days

Evidence strengthLowConfidence: 86% · Peer reviewed: yes

Main findings

Rats exposed to 900 MHz EMF for 1 hour/day for 28 days showed a significant decrease in the total number of hippocampal CA pyramidal neurons versus control and sham, along with microscopic changes (e.g., dark-coloured nuclei and unclear neuron boundaries). CAT and SOD activities were significantly different in the EMF group compared with control. Curcumin and Garcinia kola groups showed significant protection versus EMF alone, while gum arabic did not differ from EMF alone.

Outcomes measured

Hippocampal (cornu ammonis, CA) pyramidal neuron number (stereology/optical fractionator)
Histopathological changes in hippocampus (light and electron microscopy)
Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity
Serum catalase (CAT) activity
Effects of curcumin, Garcinia kola, and gum arabic on EMF-associated changes

Limitations

SAR (W/kg) not reported in abstract
Exposure setup details beyond frequency and duration not provided in abstract
Small group sizes (nine groups of six rats each)

View raw extracted JSON

{
  "study_type": "animal",
  "exposure": {
    "band": "RF",
    "source": "mobile phone",
    "frequency_mhz": 900,
    "sar_wkg": null,
    "duration": "1 hour/day for 28 days"
  },
  "population": "12-week-old male Wistar albino rats",
  "sample_size": 54,
  "outcomes": [
    "Hippocampal (cornu ammonis, CA) pyramidal neuron number (stereology/optical fractionator)",
    "Histopathological changes in hippocampus (light and electron microscopy)",
    "Serum superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity",
    "Serum catalase (CAT) activity",
    "Effects of curcumin, Garcinia kola, and gum arabic on EMF-associated changes"
  ],
  "main_findings": "Rats exposed to 900 MHz EMF for 1 hour/day for 28 days showed a significant decrease in the total number of hippocampal CA pyramidal neurons versus control and sham, along with microscopic changes (e.g., dark-coloured nuclei and unclear neuron boundaries). CAT and SOD activities were significantly different in the EMF group compared with control. Curcumin and Garcinia kola groups showed significant protection versus EMF alone, while gum arabic did not differ from EMF alone.",
  "effect_direction": "harm",
  "limitations": [
    "SAR (W/kg) not reported in abstract",
    "Exposure setup details beyond frequency and duration not provided in abstract",
    "Small group sizes (nine groups of six rats each)"
  ],
  "evidence_strength": "low",
  "confidence": 0.86,
  "peer_reviewed_likely": "yes",
  "keywords": [
    "900 MHz",
    "RF-EMF",
    "mobile phone",
    "hippocampus",
    "pyramidal neurons",
    "cornu ammonis",
    "stereology",
    "histology",
    "oxidative stress",
    "SOD",
    "CAT",
    "curcumin",
    "Garcinia kola",
    "gum arabic",
    "rat"
  ],
  "suggested_hubs": [
    {
      "slug": "rf-mobile-phones",
      "weight": 0.9,
      "reason": "Study examines 900 MHz EMF emitted by mobile phones and effects on rat hippocampus."
    }
  ]
}

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AI-extracted fields are generated from the abstract and metadata and may be incomplete or incorrect. This material is for informational purposes and is not medical advice.

Identifiers and source

DOI: 10.1016/j.jchemneu.2021.102060
PubMed: 34915150

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