Effect of garlic consumption on the argyrophilic nucleolar organiser regions (AgNORs) in splenocytes and thymocytes of rats

The number and size of nucleolar organiser regions (NORs) are related to cell proliferation. To test the hypothesis that lymphocyte proliferation is associated with garlic consumption, 17 6-week-old male Wistar rats were separated into two groups. For 30 days eight rats were given garlic solution by gavage while the remaining nine animals received distilled water. Silver staining of NORs was performed on the fixed tissues of spleens and thymuses. The nuclear area (NA), nuclear length (NL), total AgNORs area (TAA), total AgNORs length (TAL) and total AgNORs number (TAN) of 100 analyzable nuclei of lymphocytes from each tissue were recorded. In spite of a decline in the average NA and NL of thymocytes from garlic-treated rats (p<0.001), TAA and TAL increased significantly (p<0.001) in the splenocytes and thymocytes of this group. In conclusion, garlic may enhance the lymphocyte proliferation in these two important organs from the rat immune system.