It is an established fact that humans and animals are exposed to more than one chemical concurrently from various sources such as food, air and water. In the past, much emphasis was laid on evaluating the toxic effects of a single chemical. Nowadays an increased attention is being paid to the interaction of xenobiotics with one another. Therefore, a study was aimed to evaluate the potentiating effect of imidacloprid (IMI) on arsenic-induced testicular toxicity in rats. Adult male Wistar rats randomly divided into eight groups with six in each were subjected to daily oral administrations for 28 days. Group I served as control, group II received IMI at the dose rate of 16.9 mg/kg body weight, group III, IV and V received arsenic at the dose rate of 50, 100 and 150 ppb in drinking water whereas group VI, VII and VIII received both arsenic and IMI. Repeated oral administrations of IMI or arsenic (150 ppb) alone resulted in a significant (P < 0.05) elevation in the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and advanced oxidation protein product (AOPP) along with significant (P < 0.05) decline in total thiols and antioxidant enzymatic activities indicating reduced antioxidant defense in testicular tissue of exposed rats. These findings were further corroborated with histological alterations in testes like fluid accumulation in interstitial spaces in IMI administered rats. Similarly, rats provided access exclusively to arsenic-containing drinking water induced degenerative changes in seminiferous tubules in a concentration-dependent manner. Concurrent administration of IMI and arsenic produced more severe antioxidant and histopathological alterations of testes as compared to exposure to either toxicant. Reduced antioxidant activities, increased MDA and AOPP levels with severe histopathological alterations in testes of rats on concurrent exposure indicated that IMI potentiated the arsenic-induced testicular toxicity in Wistar rats.

This study aimed to determine the potential of quercetin and Zingiber officinale (ZO) Roscoe extract to alleviate the renal damage induced by dimethoate (DM) and fluoride (F^-) alone and by their combined exposure in rats. A total of 54 adult Wistar rats were randomly allocated to nine groups (n = 6). A sub-lethal dose of DM (1/10th of the median lethal dose) was administered by oral gavage alone and along with F^- (4.5 ppm, three-fold the permissible limit) in their drinking water continuously for 28 days. Chromatographical analysis revealed the presence of quercetin, curcumin, and other phytochemicals with strong antioxidant properties in ZO-rhizome extract. Severe changes were observed in the levels of the renal biomarkers and histoarchitecture after co-administration of the toxicants, indicating greater kidney damage. The administration of ZO extract (300 mg/kg) along with either or both toxicants led to a significant restoration of the biochemical markers and renal antioxidant profile and histology.

Cryptosporidium parvum is an apicomplexan zoonotic enteric protozoa that is principally responsible for severe necrotizing enteritis in immunocompromised hosts and has been associated with diarrhoea in a wide variety of animal species. The work was carried out on 48 rats which were equally divided into four groups: GI, GII, GIII and GIV. Rats in GI worked as healthy control. Rats in GII were administered C. parvum oocysts orally, GIII received dexamethasone, whereas GIV were given dexamethasone along with C. parvum oocysts. The maximum severity of experimental infection and oocyst shedding was observed on 8th DPI in Group IV rats who exhibited depression, inappetance, poor fur condition, decreased weight gain, bloody diarrhoea and highest mortality rate. Significant increase in LPO and decrease in SOD, CAT and GSH concentrations were seen in intestine in GIV rats at 8th DPI indicating the involvement of free radical induced oxidative stress in the pathogenesis of C. parvum infection. Severe necrotizing and haemorrhagic enteritis was seen in Group IV rats, whereas Group II animals had mild enteritis. Pathological examination of intestines in Group IV animals revealed extensive necrosis, blunting, fusion and sloughing of intestinal villi. Severe lymphocytic infiltration in lamina propria and submucosa was also observed. The diarrhoea and oocyst shedding gradually subsided after 8th DPI and completely resolved in GII whereas mild enteritis was still seen in GIV animals at 12thDPI. It was inferred from the present study that C. parvum strains prevalent in Jammu were capable of causing severe enteric infection in immunosuppressed rats.