Edible Camphor-induced Histopathological Changes in Hippocampus and Cerebral Cortex Following Oral Administration into Rats

Introduction: Raw edible camphor (EC), and as component of herbal infusions are widely used to treat pile, back pain, erectile dysfunction, and as an aphrodisiac especially in preparation for sexual intercourse by men. It has been traced in umbilical cord, blood, fetal, adipose, and other tissues including brain, where it bioaccumulates. Methods: The study, therefore, investigated the possible histopathological changes in brain, heart, and spleen that may result following EC administration in rats. Thirty animals were used for the study and were divided into six groups of five rats each. Group I animals served as normal control, Group II animals served as vehicle control and were orally administered 6 mL/kg corn oil daily for 7 days, while Groups III-VI animals were orally administered 1, 2, 4, and 6 g/kg EC for 7 days daily. Results and Conclusions: Following the administrations of various doses of EC, the histopathological changes seen in the cerebral cortex of the brain include mild submeningeal spongiosis, mild diffuse spongiosis of the parenchyma, a very mild diffuse gliosis, and presences of gitter cells, while in hippocampus, there were mild diffuse gliosis and disruption of the progression of the hippocampal horns, as well as foci of spongiosis around the hippocampal horns, and neuronal cells have open faced nuclei. No effect was seen in heart and spleen except 4 g/kg of EC that revealed moderate diffuse congestion in spleen only. In conclusion, EC may not have any toxic effects on the cardiac and splenic cells, but had toxic effects on the brain hippocampus and cerebral cortex, and may lead to brain cell damage.