ABSTRACT
The use of isoniazid (INH) for the treatment of tuberculosis often presents with peripheral neuropathy. The purpose of this study was to examine the attenuation properties of vitamin c on isoniazid induced neuropathy. The study also examined the best dose and duration of vitamin C supplementation for the therapy of isoniazid-induced neuropathy.
Adult rats were randomly allotted to six distinct experimental groups of five rats each. Group 1 was treated with distilled water (10 ml/kg) alone and served as the normal; group 2 was treated with isoniazid alone at a dose of 93 mg/kg and served as the negative control; group 3 was treated with isoniazid (93 mg/kg) and pyridoxine (8.86 mg/kg) and served as the positive control; group 4 was treated with isoniazid (93 mg/kg) and ascorbic acid (46.5 mg/kg); group was treated with isoniazid (93 mg/kg) and ascorbic acid (93 mg/kg); and group 6 was treated with isoniazid (93 mg/kg) and ascorbic acid (186 mg/kg). The administration of all treatment occurred daily orally for a period of fourteen (14) consecutive days via an orogastric tube. The tests and evaluations which included test of analgesia, skin sensitivity, motor coordination, depression-like behavior, anxiety, and proneness to convulsion were carried out on the fourteenth (14th) day of treatment.
The results showed that ascorbic acid significantly reversed INH-induced motor impairment. The effect of ascorbic acid was dose-dependent in reversing the impaired pain sensation caused by isoniazid. Ascorbic acid and pyridoxine prevented depressive-like behavior induced by isoniazid. Additionally, ascorbic acid protected against convulsions induced by maximal electroshock, while pyridoxine showed no significant effect. In conclusion, ascorbic acid supplementation may ameliorate motor coordination impairment, anxiety-like behavior, sensory impairment, depressive-like behavior, and pro-convulsive effects associated with isoniazid administration.
