Mancozeb is an ethylenebisdithiocarbamate fungicide used against a wide range of fungal diseases of field crops and fruits. Ginger (Zingiber officinale) is a monocotyledonous plant with many pharmacological properties. Treating albino rats with mancozeb at a dose level of (1/10 LD50) 3 times/week for 2, 4 and 6 weeks induced a significant decrease in their body weight in all such periods of treatment in comparison with control. Animals treated with mancozeb and ginger water extract showed a significant increase in their body weight compared with those of mancozeb group. Adrenal cortex of animals administered with mancozeb exhibited obvious histological and histochemical alterations. The histological changes include atrophy of zona fasciculata and zona reticularis, thickening of adrenal capsule and vacuolation of zona glomerulosa. The blood sinusoids in zona reticularies was dilated and congested. Histochemical results revealed a marked depletion of polysaccharides in zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata and lacking of such polysaccharides in zona reticularis. Total proteins content showed a marked decrease in zona glomerulosa and zona fasciculata, while the cells of zona reticularis appeared with a moderate amount of total proteins. Animals treated with mancozeb followed by ginger showed that the architecture of the three cortical zones was nearly returned to normal picture but the connective tissue capsule appeared thicker than in the control. Moreover, ginger increased polysaccharides and total protein contents in the cortical zones. It is speculated that the ameliorative effect of Z. officinale against adrenal damage induced by mancozeb is mediated by its potent antioxidant activities.
Key words: Mancozeb, zinger, adrenal cortex, rat, histology
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