Avaliação da toxicidade oral do acetilcarvacrol em ratos wistar

Abstract

Ticks are ectoparasites of great medical-veterinary importance, mainly due to their ability to transmit various pathogens. However, the prolonged and indiscriminate use of synthetic acaricides has led to the selection of resistant strains. For this reason, in recent years, the use of plant extracts for tick control has intensified. Therefore, the objective of this study is to evaluate the oral toxicity of acetylcarvacrol in Wistar rats in order to determine effective and safe dosages for its use in tick control. For this, 20 adult female Wistar rats were used. The treatment groups received 26, 52, and 104 μL of acetylcarvacrol diluted in 1 mL of corn oil by gavage daily for 30 days. The control group received only the vehicle (corn oil) for the same period. Blood samples were collected immediately after euthanasia by deepening anesthesia and cardiac puncture to determine erythrocyte count, total and differential leukocyte count, hematocrit, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin, and platelet count. The rats were dissected for the removal of the following organs: stomach, small intestine, liver, pancreas, heart, and lungs, which were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde. The samples were then dehydrated in ethanol, embedded in paraffin, and sectioned with a microtome. The sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin and mounted in Canada balsam. Although slight changes were indeed observed in rats exposed to oral acetylcarvacrol, their extent was not large enough to cause permanent or irreversible damage.