Background: Furan is a compound of food pollutants widely dispersed in air, water, soil, and sediments throughout the world. It is present in processed food exposed to heat as canning and pasteurization. It is also found in cigarette smoke and as an intermediate compound in the processing of several chemical and pharmaceutical products. In folk medicine, food flavoring, fragrance and pharmaceuticals, cloves are employed. There are many health benefits of Clove and it sometimes used as an antibacterial, antifungal, antiseptic and antioxidant agent.
Aim: The current research examines the impact of furan on the histological structure of adult male albino rats' submandibular salivary glands and tests the feasible protective effect of clove extract.
Materials and Methods: Current study has used 48 male albino rats. The rats were randomly divided into four groups: control group, Clove-treated group received 500 mg / kg / day, 5 days / week, Furan-treated group received 8 mg / kg, 5 days / week, and Furan and Clove group, anesthetized and sacrificed at the end of the study (8 weeks). Both animal submandibular glands were excised for histological, histochemical, immunohistochemical and electron microscopy tests. Morphometric study and statistics were conducted.
Results: In addition to periductal and perivascular excessive collagen fibers accumulation, Furan treated submandibular glands showed disorganization, degeneration and vacuolation of acinar and ductal cells. Ultrastructural changes in the range of pyknotic nuclei, dilated rough endoplasmic reticulum, degenerated mitochondria followed by loss of infolded basal membrane. Furan increased apoptosis and decreased cytoplasmic CYP2E1. It lowered antioxidant enzymes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and Catalase (CAT) significantly and simultaneously elevated malondialdehyde (MDA) level. Clove extract administration ameliorated these changes, showing major improvements in submandibular structure.
Conclusion: It can well be concluded that cloves can exert a protective effect and reduce toxicity of Furan on submandibular gland.