Sertraline is an antidepressant drug used for treatment of depression. However, there are several side effects occurred during its use in treatment. Ginger is a natural substance which has many biological effective roles such as immunomodulatory, antioxidant, and free radical scavenging and anti-inflammatory agent. The study was designed to clarify the histological, ultrastructural and immunohistochemical alterations in the spinal cord of male albino mice after ingestion of sertraline and to elucidate of the protective role of ginger extract against the side effects of this antidepressant drug. Forty adult male albino Wister mice were divided into four groups ; group 1 ingested distilled water , group 2 ingested 50 mg/l (10%) ginger extract, group 3 ingested sertraline (0.13 mg/kg/BW), group 4 ingested sertraline and then was given ginger extract after 1 hour. All groups were treated for 28 consecutive days. The animals were sacrificed and the cervical region of the spinal cord from each animal was taken and processed for both light and electron microscopic examinations. Histopathological and ultrastructural studies revealed significant alterations in the motor and sensory neurons of the spinal cord after treatment with sertraline. These changes were confirmed by the immunohistochemical expression results. Sections of animals treated with sertraline followed by ginger revealed marked ameliorative effects. It is concluded that ginger has a protective effect by avoiding the side effects of the sertraline.
Key words: Sertraline, ginger, spinal cord, immunohistochemstry, Ultrastructure
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