TOXICITY OF CIPROFLOXACIN

PREVENTIVE ROLE OF ZINC CHLORIDE ON APPEARANCE OF SECONDARY OSSIFICATION CENTERS IN WISTAR ALBINO RAT LITTERS

Abstract

Objectives: To evaluate the preventive role of Zinc
Chloride on Toxicity of Ciprofloxacin administration on secondary ossification centers in wistar albino rat litters.
Design of Study: Prospective and comparative animal study carried out on experimental Wistar Albino Rats.
Setting: The study was carried out in the department of Anatomy Basic Medical Sciences Institute, Jinnah
Postgraduate Medical Center (JPMC) Karachi from 2001 to 2002. Methods: Ciprofloxacin and Zinc Chloride
were administered to newly born albino rat pups separately and simultaneously at a dose of 20 mg/kg body
weight and 120 ug/100g body weight respectively intraperitoneally twice daily from day 1 to 14 after birth.
These animals were killed by deep either anaesthesia and fixed in 80% alcohol. They were then bulk stained with
alizarin Red S and alcian blue. Finally they were cleared in 4% KOH and stored in Glycerin. The fore and hind
limbs were disarticulated from the axial skeleton and observed under stereo-microscope for evidence of skeletal
differentiation in the form of presence of secondary ossification centers in ling bones. The time of appearance
of these centers were noted and compared statistically with those in the control animals. Results: This study
revealed that the secondary ossification centers in long bones were delayed in experimental animals and
simultaneous treatment with Zinc Chloride partially prevented toxicity of ciprofloxacin as compared with
controls. Conclusion: these results strongly suggest that ciprofloxacin causes a risk to skeletal differentiation and therefore to its growth. However the cirpofloxacin toxicity could ne partially prevented by simultaneous
administration of Zinc Chloride in wistar albino rat litters.