Ameliorative effects of Punica granatum juice and Bee pollen against monosodium glutamate induced toxicity in adult male albino rats

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a worldwide consumed food additive and recently reported to be health hazardous. In this study, we aimed to investigate the possible ameliorative effects of Punica granatum juice (PJ) and Bee pollen (BP) against hematological and splenic toxicities. Thirty adult male albino rats were divided randomly into five groups (n=6 each). In the normal group, rats were administered orally with distilled water for 10 weeks. All other groups were orally administered with MSG (2.4 g/kg b.w.) daily for 4 weeks. After that, the third group was treated orally with PJ (4ml/kg b.w.) daily for 6 weeks, the fourth group was orally treated with (BP) (200 mg/kg b.w.) daily for 6 weeks and the fifth group was treated orally with (PJ, 4ml/kg b.w. + BP, 200 mg/kg b.w.) daily for 6 weeks. By the end of the experiment, the rats were sacrificed to collect the blood and tissue samples for hematological assays and histopathological studies. The hematological results revealed that MSG administration induced a significant reduction in RBCs, Hb, HCT, WBCs, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and Platelets (PLTs) values. At the same time, MCV and MCH recorded a significant increase. Also, our results showed severe disorders in the splenic oxidative state biomarkers, as manifested by a significant reduction in its total antioxidant capacity (TAC) and a remarkable increase in its malondialdehyde (MDA) levels, as well as severe splenic histopathological abnormalities. Concomitant administration of PJ and BP alleviated all these altered hematological disorders, besides clear ameliorations in splenic histopathological alterations.