Fig. 3
The HE and nissl stains evaluation of brain tissues in rats. Sections of brain tissues with HE (a) and nissl stain (b). Cell counting analysis of nissl bodies in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus (c, number/cm2). HE stains showed that there were no apparent changes in brain histology in three groups. However, sparser hippocampal tissues were observed in both ZnO-treated groups compared to that in the control. The red arrows show the sparser hippocampal tissues. Decreased numbers of nissl bodies and shrunken nuclei were found in the cortex and hippocampus in the ZnO NPs tongue instillation group. Results shown as means ± SD from three independent experiments, compare with control group, *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01. (n = 5). Abbreviations: ZnO: zinc oxide nanoparticles; HE: hematoxylin & eosin; SD: Standard deviation