Effect of Vitamin E on the Mitigation of Ethanol-Induced Apoptosis in the Spinal Cord of Syrian Hamster Embryos

Abstract

The study aimed to investigate the effectiveness of vitamin E on preventing the effect of Ethanol as an oxidizing agent on the spinal cord during the embryonic development. The study was conducted on Syrian hamster embryos that were removed from their mothers on the 15th day of gestation. The pregnancy period was divided into three stages. The pregnant mothers were also divided into two groups which were administered with an oral dose of two different concentrations of alcohol, the first group by 30%, and the second by 40%, and the dose was 0.05 mg / g of the female weight for both concentrations at each stage. The concentration of 30% was fatal for pregnant mothers only in the first gestational phase, while the concentration of 40% was fatal at all stages of pregnancy. Vitamin E dosage was, therefore, restricted to pregnant mothers dosed with 30% of ethanol in both second and third gestational stages, and two different doses of vitamin E (200,400) IU were used. The histological study of cross-sections in the spinal cord at the thoracic level of the Syrian hamster embryos showed a significant protective effect of vitamin E (200,400) IU in decreasing apoptotic cells (p=0.000<0.05) in both gestational stages. This was marked by obvious decrease in the means of apoptotic cells and bodies in comparison with their means in mothers dosed with alcohol by (30% and 0.05 ml / g) without Vitamin E dosage (Jouban, et al., 2019, 213). However, the protective effect of Vitamin E did not prevent the programmed cell death compared with the control. We did not notice any significant differences (p=0.841>0.05) between the two doses (200,400) IU of vitamin E in reducing apoptotic cells and bodies in both second and third gestational stages.

Keywords: Vitamin E, Spinal cord –Syrian Hamster