Sub-Acute Pentazocine Induced Toxicity: Biochemical and Histopathological Study of Rat Intestinal Tissues

Background: Pentazocine addiction in Nigeria has emerged as a health issue among young people dealing with various types of pain, despite the drug's widespread use among sickle-cell sufferers. Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the toxicological effects of pentazocine on the intestines. Methods: Twenty-eight (28) adult Wistar rats were acclimatized and grouped into four. Group 1 (control) was administered 1ml of normal saline (0.9% NaCl) while groups 2 – 4 served as the experimental groups and administered graded doses of 30 mg/kg, 60 mg/kg, and 90 mg/kg pentazocine (PZ) intramuscularly for 14 days. Both intestines were obtained and analyzed for biochemical parameters such as catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), and malondialdehyde (MDA), as well as histopathological analyses of sample tissues. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the differences between the control and experimental groups using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) version 23.0. Results: In the intestines, there were significant increases in CAT and SOD enzymes, as well as substantial decreases in MDA levels in PZ-treated groups. Intestinal histopathology of PZ-treated groups displayed notable glandular distortions, and infiltration of inflammatory cells within the mucosa epithelia. Conclusion: Sub-acute pentazocine administration was shown to cause moderate toxicity and could lead to associated gut-brain inflammatory responses.