Protective effect of Acorus calamus against acrylamide induced neurotoxicity

Exposure of rats to acrylamide (ACR) caused hind limb paralysis in 58% of the animals on day 10 and decreased behavioural parameters, namely distance travelled, ambulatory time, stereotypic time and basal stereotypic movements compared with the control group. These rats also had a decrease in the reduced glutathione (GSH) content and glutathione‐S‐transferase (GST) activity in the corpus striatum and an increase in striatal dopamine receptors, as evident by an increase in the binding of 3H‐spiperone to striatal membranes. Treatment with the ethanol:water (1:1) extract of the rhizomes of Acorus calamus (AC‐002) increased the GSH content and GST activity in the corpus striatum while insignificant changes were observed in other parameters. Rats treated with ACR and AC‐002 in combination had a lower incidence of paralysis (18%) compared with those treated with ACR alone on day 10 of the experiment. The rats also showed a partial recovery in other behavioural parameters. The levels of GSH content and GST activity increased in the corpus striatum, while the dopamine receptors decreased compared with the ACR treated rats. The results suggest that the neurobehavioural changes produced by ACR may be prevented following treatment with Acorus calamus rhizomes. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.