Histopathological changes following the use of thiophanate methyl fungicide in brain tissue of Wistar rats

Thiophanate methyl fungicide, which is used to control the most common fungal diseases in agricultural products, causes high cytotoxic effects in cells through changes in the physiological homeostasis. The present study was conducted to evaluate the histopathological changes following the use of thiophanate methyl fungicide in the brain tissue of Wistar rats.

In this experimental study, 32 male Wistar rats were randomly assigned into 4 groups of 8, one control group and three groups receiving thiophanate methyl poison dissolved in corn oil with doses of 1328 (group A), 996 (group B) and 664 (group C) (mg/kg body weight). At the end, Nissl and hematoxylin-eosin staining was done to evaluate the damage caused in the brain tissue.

Evaluations on the brain tissue showed a range of pathological changes in the cerebral cortex of group A and necrosis of neurons in all groups receiving thiophanate methyl poison, followed by a decrease in the density of neurons in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and the amount of this decrease in all areas of the CA2,3 area in groups A (106.40±5.12) and B (126.10±5.22) was higher than group C (161.30±6.79) (P<0.05).

Thiophanate methyl fungicide causes a decrease in the density of neurons in these areas in the central nervous system through damage to the cells of the cerebral cortex and the main areas of the hippocampus, which increased the severity of this damage after increasing the dose of the fungicide.