Neuromodulatory effects of aqueous extract of Coriandrum sativum seeds against acrylamide induced toxicity in Drosophila melanogaster

Abstract

Acrylamide (ACR) exposure leads to neuronal damage in both experimental animals and humans and has been established as a neurotoxin. The primary focus of this study was to assess the potential ameliorative effect of aqueous extract of coriander seeds against ACR-induced neurotoxicity in a Drosophila model. In this co-exposure study, adult male flies (8–10 days) were exposed (7 days) to ACR (5 mM) with or without aqueous extract of coriander seeds (0.005% and 0.01%) in the medium. The incidence of mortality among flies fed with ACR and extract was significantly reduced (40-60%). The ACR fed flies showed improvement in negative geotaxis assay when co-exposed with coriander extract (50-60%). Further, a significant attenuation in the ACR induced oxidative stress parameter such as Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS), and malondialdehyde (MDA) was evident. Although the effect of ACR with or without extract showed a differential effect on the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and glutathione –S – transferase (GST), the reduced levels of Thioredoxin Reductase (TRR) activity was robustly enhanced with extract supplement. Further, the cholinergic and dopaminergic function was assessed among all flies. While ACR induced elevation of acetylcholine esterase (AChE) activity remained unaltered with coriander supplement, a significant improvement was evident in the ACR induced reduction of dopamine levels. While the underlying mechanism of action needs further investigation, the protective effects may be at least in part related to the antioxidant capacity of the phytoconstituents of coriander.