Acrylamide first received global attention in April 2002 when Swedish researchers reported finding the chemical in fried and oven-baked foods, especially in potato chips and French fries. The present study deals with clarifying the neurotoxic effects on cerebellar cortex development during postnatal development. Eighty fertile male and virgin female rats weighing approximately 120g bwt (3 female / 1 male) were used in the present work. Fertile females were placed for mating with fertile males at overnight and checking zero date of pregnancy in the next morning by observing sperms in vaginal smear. Three animal groups were arranged. The first group served as control. The second group received daily oral doses of 30 mg. /kg body weight of acrylamide from day 6th of gestation till parturition as well as during postnatal life for 4 weeks. The third group, received food supplementation of fried Potatoess chips beside standard diet from day 6th of gestation till parturition as well as during postnatal life for 4 weeks. The postnatal young were sacrificed at parturition as well as 1, 2, 3& 4 weeks. Criteria of brain growth as well as light, scanning & transmission electron microscopic observations were carried out on the mentioned ages of both control and experimental groups. The growth pattern of body and brain weights were markedly retarded in rats maternally treated with acrylamide or received food supplementation containing fried potatoess chips. On the other hand, light microscopic observations of cerebellar cortex revealed a considerable reduction of molecular, purkinje cells and internal granular layers of treated animals. Different patterns of cell death were detected especially in purkinje cells and neurons of the granular layers of the developing postnatal young of treated mothers. TEM observations revealed increased average of apoptic cell death of neuronal cells especially purkinje cells associated with ruptured endoplasmic reticulum, loss arrangement of poly ribosomes, swollen mitochondria with ill differentiated cristae as well as abnormal pattern structure of the Golgi complex. The gastrocnemius muscle of both treated groups possessed myodegeneration of myofibrils with ill differentiated A, H & Z bands. The authors concluded that postnatal young maternally treated with acrylamide or fed on fried potatoess chips exhibited cerebellar cortex defects, as well as myodegeneration of gastrocnemius muscle.
Key words: Cerebellar cortex, muscle development, acrylamide, fried potatoess
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