Black Tea Extract Attenuates Sodium Fluoride-Induced Neurotoxicity in Adult Male Rats

Background: Excessive exposure to fluoride has been documented to cause brain injury and reduce intelligence quotient even in school children. Black tea which has flavonoid as its highest constituent has been reported as antioxidant, antiinflammatory, antitumor, antimutagenic and ant carcinogenic. However, the neuroprotective effect of black tea is ill defined. We therefore hypothesize that black tea extract would attenuate sodium fluoride-induced neurotoxicity. Method: Adult male Wistar rats were randomly allotted into groups; Control (vehicle; received distilled water), sodium fluoride-treated (NaF-treated; received 10mg/kg b.w), Black tea extract-treated (BTE-treated; received 2% black tea extract) and sodium fluoride+ Black tea extract-treated (NaF+BTE -treated). The treatment lasted for 28 days and the administration was done daily by oral gavage. The body weight change was monitored using animal weighing balance (Olympia SCL66110 model, Kent Scientific Corporation, Torrington, CT06790, USA), biochemical assay and cerebellar tissue histology were performed as previously described. Results: The results showed significant increase in body weight gain and significant cerebellar degeneration in NaFtreated group when compared with the vehicle-treated group. These alterations of cerebellar morphology were associated with decreased cerebellar glucose-6-phophate dehydrogenase, lactate dehydrogenase, and glutathione peroxidase. However, Concomitant administration of black tea extract during treatment with NaF significantly attenuated cerebellar degeneration. Conclusion: The present study demonstrates that administration of black tea extract during treatment with NaF preserves cerebellar function, suggesting that possibly daily intake of BTE prevents the onset of neurodegenerative disorders. This might be due to its antioxidative effect.