The effects of a street cocktail drug (nyaope) on the opioid signalling system in the rat brain and benefits of Moringa oleifera extracts

Abstract

The use of adulterated drugs is a worldwide public health problem. Since 2010, South African black communities have been administering an adulterated drug called nyaope. The method of administration is mainly through smoking and intravenous injection on an interval basis. There is evidence that the active ingredient of nyaope is heroin. Heroin has devastating health outcomes. Several drug rehabilitation centres have used phytomedicine to mitigate the curb substance use disorder. The study aimed to assess the effect of nyaope on the behavioural pattern of rats and the ability of moringa to reverse the negative outcome. Firstly, the nyaope samples were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. It was subsequently found that nyaope consists mainly of a high grade of heroin. For the animal studies, forty Wistar rats (20 males and 20 females) were subjected to the open field test, elevated plus maze, novel object recognition test, and Y-maze before and after being treated with nyaope. Subsequently, animals were sacrificed, and the brain and liver were harvested for further analysis using ELISA and IDEXX respectively. The active ingredient of nyaope was heroin mixed with other human health toxic compounds. Animals that were administered with nyaope displayed slow locomotor activity and high levels of anxiety-like behaviour in the open field test and the elevated plus-maze. To our knowledge, this is the first study to determine the effects of nyaope on the liver and brain. In healthy individuals, locomotor activity is mainly centred and controlled by the brain. When a person experiences SUD, BDNF or other neurotrophic factors are often prescribed to impact the functioning of the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway, thereby influencing locomotor behaviour. Administration of nyaope led to significant abnormalities in locomotor activity as reflected by a marked decrease in total distance travelled in the open field test, and this observation was more pronounced in female animals. In addition, female animals also displayed a greater likelihood of anxiety-like behaviour by spending significantly more time against the wall of the open field in comparison to saline controls as well as male animals. The histology results showed that some organelles in the liver were damaged as a result. There were modified liver enzyme concentration levels in the nyaopetreated animals suggesting nyaope-induced hepatic damage. Nyaope-treated animals that were also treated with Moringa oleifera showed some improvement. The plant extract improved total distance travelled and therefore locomotor activity as well as reduced the amount of time spent against the wall of the open field, reflecting decreased levels of anxiety-like behaviour. The levels of the liver enzymes of nyaope-treated animals were also similar to that of saline controls. The present study showed that administration of nyaope has some negative health impacts on the body, and that phytotherapeutics can reverse some of the deleterious effects of the drug. Our findings indicate that nyaope may have deleterious effects on specific organs that may contribute to its malfunctioning. There is a need to do further research to investigate the health impacts of nyaope on the hippocampus and compare the effectiveness of herbal extracts and opioid antagonists. The use of Moringa olifeira showed some promising results. But further research is needed to look at phytomedicine and substance abuse disorders.