ameliorative effects of silymarin on methamphetamine-induced neurobehavioral and histopathological alterations in adolescent wistar rats

Background: one of the most significant public health concerns in our local communities is the high prevalence of methamphetamine use among teenagers. objectives: this study aimed to explore the neuroprotective role of silymarin on methamphetamine-induced changes in adolescent wistar rats, focusing on both behavioral and cellular markers.materials & methods: for this study, 40 juvenile wistar rats were used. the animals were divided into four groups of ten animals each. control group a (control) received the vehicle, group b received methamphetamine, group c received silymarin, and group d received methamphetamine and silymarin. methamphetamine and silymarin were given orally at 5 mg/kg and 385 mg/kg for 14 days. neurobehavioral tests were done on the last four days of the treatment, postnatal day 39–42. the animals were sacrificed 24 hours after the last treatment, and the histological evaluation of the amygdala and the hippocampus was performed.results: malondialdehyde (mda) tissue levels increased significantly (p=0.002) in the methamphetamine group but decreased in the combined methamphetamine and silymarin group. differences in risk assessment, cognitions, and depressive-like behaviors between the methamphetamine plus silymarin group and the control group were statistically significant in the methamphetamine group (p=0.001, 0.004, 0.001, respectively). microglia activation, neuronal edema and shrinkage, neurofibrillary tangles, and senile plaques increased in the group that received only methamphetamine but reversed in methamphetamine plus silymarin-treated animals. oligodendrocyte transcription factor 2 (olig2) and myelin basic protein (mbp) decreased in the methamphetamine group but increased in the methamphetamine plus silymarin group.conclusion: according to this research, silymarin inhibits lipid peroxidation (measured using the level of mda). also, methamphetamine induces significant levels of animal behavioral deficits (measured with elevated plus maze (epm) test, tail suspension test, and morris water maze test). these behavioral deficits were reversed to a nonsignificant level in the group treated with both methamphetamine and silymarin when compared to the control group. this finding indicates that silymarin could reverse behavioral deficits and molecular alterations associated with methamphetamine exposure.