Insights overview on the possible protective effect of chitosan nanoparticles encapsulation against neurotoxicity induced by carbendazim in rats

Carbendazim (CBZ) contamination of food and water is a principal factor in many negative impacts on public health. Nanoencapsulation of agrochemicals by nontoxic polymers as chitosan nanoparticles (CS-NPs) is one of the most applications of nanotechnology in agriculture. Despite its many advantages, such as it provides controlled release property, more stability and solubility of the active ingredient, it is not authorized to be used in the market because there are no adequate studies on the nano pesticides induced toxicity on experimental animals. So, we aim to study the possible impacts of CBZ-loading CS-NPs on the whole brain of rats and to explain its mechanism of action. 20 male Wistar rats were partitioned into 4 groups as follows: Group (1), normal saline; group (2), 5 mg/kg CS-NPs; group (3), 300 mg/kg CBZ; group (4) 300 mg/kg CS/CBZ-NCs. After 28 days, some neurobehavioral parameters were assessed to all rats then euthanization was done to collect the brain. Our results revealed that CBZ prompted neurotoxicity manifested by severe neurobehavioral changes and a significant increase of MDA with a decrease of GSH and CAT in brain tissue. In addition, there were severe neuropathological alterations confirmed by immunohistochemistry which showed strong bax, GFAP, and TNF-ὰ protein expression in some brain areas. CBZ also induced apoptosis manifested by up-regulation of JNK and P53 with down-regulation of Bcl-2 in brain tissue. Otherwise, encapsulation of CBZ with CS-NPs could reduce CBZ-induced neurotoxicity and improve all studied toxicological parameters. We recommend using CBZ-loading CS-NPs as an alternative approach for fungicide application in agricultural and veterinary practices but further studies are needed to ensure its safety on other organs.