Histopathological alteration of buccal mucosa resulting from tartrazine toxicity

Introduction: Tartrazine is a synthetic azo dye of nitrous origin that is directly absorbed through the buccal mucosa and is reduced in the intestine to a potentially carcinogenic or mutagenic called sulphanilic acid. Objective: To evaluate the histopathological alteration of buccal mucosa resulting from tartrazine toxicity among Albino Wistar rats. Materials & Methods: From July to December 2022, this quasi-experimental investigation was carried out at the Department of Pathology, Isra University, Hyderabad. A total of thirty mature, healthy male Wistar albino rats weighing 180–220 grams and aged between 9 and 12 weeks were gathered. Group A, the control Group, was given regular chow; Group B, which got powdered tartrazine 7.5 mg/100 gm body weight with normal chow; and Group C, which received powdered tartrazine 15 mg/100 gm body weight with normal chow, were all randomly assigned to three Groups. Following the conclusion of the trial, a histological examination of the buccal mucosal tissue from each Group was carried out. Data were analyzed by SPSS 24 for descriptive and comparative statistics, with p≤0.05 denoting significance. One-way ANOVA and Fischer’s Exact test were used as indicated. Results: Rats in Groups C and B had significantly different post-experimental body weights from those in Group A (p<0.05). A notable variation (p<0.05) in mean levels of serum anti-oxidative markers between all three Groups. The histopathological alterations of the buccal mucosal tissue in Group C rats compared to Group B and A rats were found to be statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusion: The study concludes that tartrazine toxicity causes a significant histopathological alteration of buccal mucosa.