Preventive Effect of Ferula asafoetida Oleo Gum Resin on Histopathology in Cuprizone-Induced Demyelination Mice

BACKGROUND: Ferula asafoetida is introduced as a valuable remedy for hysteria and some other nervous disorders in Iranian traditional medicine. Asafoetida is an oleo-gum-resin obtained from the exudates of the roots of the Ferula asafoetida. Previous studies have shown that this oleo gum resin has antioxidant, anti-apoptosis, and differentiation properties in the nervous system. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of asafoetida on the death of oligodendrocytes and demyelination in male C57BL/6 mice in cuprizone (CPZ)-induced animal model of multiple sclerosis. METHODS: Demyelination was induced by oral administration of rats with the 0.2% CPZ that was added to the usual diet for 8 weeks. Animals intraperitoneally received daily asafoetida at doses of 25 or 50 mg/kg of bodyweight simultaneously. At the end of the weeks, animal brains were removed and fixed to histological studies using Luxol fast blue staining. Asafoetida was screened for its antioxidant activity using 2, 2-diphenyl-1-picylhydrazyl free radical scavenging assay and for its inhibitory activity against lipid peroxidation catalyzed by soybean lipoxygenase. RESULTS: The results of this study showed that asafoetida significantly decreased infiltration rate in both groups of asafoetida 25 and 50 mg/kg, respectively (P < 0.01). Histological evaluations showed the lower demyelination in LFB in the group treated with asafoetida. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study showed that asafoetida plays a neuro protective role in CPZ models of multiple sclerosis by reducing neuronal demyelination and oligodendrocytes death.