Tartrazine (TZ) is an artificial azo dye made from coal tar. It is used all over the world as food coloring in a variety of foods, medicines, and cosmetics.

The purpose of the current study was to assess the harmful effects of Tartrazine on the parotid gland and also study the reparative effect of Vitamin E on affected tissues. Materials and methods: Rats were grouped into Control group and experimental groups; tartrazine treated groups and Vitamin E and tartrazine treated groups. The control group was administered orally with water alone. Each subgroup consisted of 5 rats. All doses were given daily by oral intubation using a gastro pharyngeal tube. Sacrifice was carried out on two intervals: after14 days and after 28 days The experimental group was administered orally with tartrazine (7.5 mg/kg, b.wt.). The specimens were collected after the study to be prepared for light microscopic examination.

Results: The findings demonstrated that tartrazine caused severe histological changes in the parotid gland, including acini nuclei, changes in the cytoplasm, and loss of the normal architecture and ducts. Vitamin E treated group was nearly similar to control group and it obviously reversed the damage caused by Tartrazine.