Significance of nutraceuticals in inhalant abuse

Inhalant abuse is the deliberate inhalation of vapor of the inhalants with the intention to alter one's consciousness. Inhalant abuse can result in serious organ system dysfunction and CNS disorder or even sudden death. The present study focuses on evaluating the role of treatment with different neutracenticals including hormones (melatonin), amino acids (tyrosine and tryptophan) and vitamins (folic acid and vitamin B12) against gasoline, perchloroethylene or toluene-induced neurodegenerative damage in adult male rats. The present result revealed that inhalation of gasoline, perchloroethylene or toluene for quarter an hour / day for 45 days led to significant increase in brain lipid peroxidation, GABA levels and plasma DHEA-S concentration. On the other hand, the selected inhalants caused significant depletion in brain glutathione, serotonin, dopamine levels and plasma testosterone, T3 and T4 concentrations. In contrast, the treatment with the different nutraceuticals resulted in pronounced improvement in most of biochemical markers as well as histopathological features of the brain which highlighted the usefulness of these therapies in maintaining the brain function activity.