ABSTRACT
Background: Nicotine is the addictive component oftobacco smoking. It has been reported to have anegative neuromodulatory role in the CNS. Moringaoleifera is a medicinal plant with reported antioxidant,anticonvulsant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. Aim and Objectives: This studywas purposed to investigate the neuronal adaptationpotentials of Moringa Oleifera (MO) on nicotineinduced behavioural decline and perturbed bioenergetics. Material and Methods: Twenty-four adultmale Wistar rats were used. The treatment regimen wasas follows; control group received distilled water, MOgroup received 200 mg/kg of MO, Nicotine Groupreceived 1.38 mg/kg body weight of nicotine, andNicotine + MO group received combined treatment of200 mg/kg body weight of MO after 1.38 mg/kg bodyweight of nicotine for 28 days. The animals weresubjected to Morris water maze for spatial memory, Ymaze for working memory and elevated-plus mazetests for anxiety levels after which they were sacrificedfor spectrophotometric analysis of global proteinexpression, neural bioenergetics (lactate dehydrogenase and glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase), andAcetylcholinesterase (AChE) levels. Results: Nicotineinfusion caused a reduction in the escape latencyperiod, increased the percentage incorrect alternation,and elevated the anxiety levels of rats. Theseobservations were indicative of decreased synapticactivity in the brain. Together with, nicotine inducedchromatolytic changes in cells of the frontal cortex andhippocampus. Co-administration with MO preventednicotine-associated memory decline, perturbedglucose bioenergetics, induced chromatolysis andhistomorphological distortion in the frontal cortex andhippocampus. Conclusion: Our data demonstrate thatMO administration enhances experience-dependentneuroplasticity and cognitive behaviour function inlaboratory animals, modulates energy metabolism andreduced oxidant stress possibly through enhancedproduction of key antioxidant enzymes against thedamaging effects of nicotine. It provided evidence thatMO can be further developed as a means to protect thebrain from oxidative stress-induced injury.
ABSTRACT
We tested the hypothesis that Moringa oleifera impairs the morphology and functions of the kidney in rats. Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats were employed in the study. Rats of Control Group I received physiological saline while rats of Groups II IV received 250, 500 and 750 mg/kg bodyweight of methanolic extract of Moringa oleifera respectively for twenty one days. No behavioral anomalies were observed in rats of Groups I IV. Rats of Control Group I gained statistically significant increased bodyweight while rats of Groups II IV experienced non-significant decreased bodyweight during experimental procedure. (P0.05). No statistical significant differences (P0.05) were observed in the analyses of the relative weights of kidneys of rats of Groups I IV. Histological examinations showed normal cyto-architecture of the kidneys of rats of Group I while the Capsular spaces of the kidneys of rats of Groups II IV appeared wider than those of Group I. Statistical analyses showed significant higher levels (P0.05) of Alanine and Aspartate Transaminases, and serum urea in rats of Groups II IV in a non- dose-dependent manner when compared to rats of Group I. Our findings are consistent with the stated hypothesis.
Se puso a prueba la hipótesis que Moringa oleifera altera la morfología y función del riñón en ratas. Fueron utilizadas 24 ratas Wistar macho adultas. El grupo control recibió suero fisiológico mientras que los Grupos II a IV recibieron 250, 500 y 750 mg/kg peso corporal del extracto metanólico de Moringa oleifera respectivamente, durante 21 días. No se observaron anomalías en el comportamiento en ratas de los Grupos I - IV. En las ratas del grupo de control se registró un aumento de peso corporal estadísticamente significativo, mientras que las ratas de los grupos II - IV experimentaron una disminución no significativa de peso corporal durante el procedimiento experimental (P0,05). No se observaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas (P0,05) en el análisis de los pesos relativos en riñones de las ratas de los grupos I - IV. Los exámenes histológicos mostraron citoarquitectura normal de los riñones de las ratas del grupo I, mientras que en ratas de los grupos II IV los espacios capsulares de los riñones aparecían más amplios que los del Grupo I. Los análisis estadísticos mostraron niveles superiores significativos ( P 0,05 ) de la alanina y aspartato aminotransferasa, y de urea en suero en ratas de los Grupos II - IV no dependiente de la dosis, en comparación con las ratas del Grupo I. Estos resultados coinciden con la hipótesis planteada.
Subject(s)
Animals , Rats , Plant Extracts/toxicity , Moringa oleifera , Kidney/drug effects , Organ Size/drug effects , Aspartate Aminotransferases/analysis , Aspartate Aminotransferases/drug effects , Urea/analysis , Rats, Wistar , Alanine Transaminase/analysis , Alanine Transaminase/drug effectsABSTRACT
In this work, we studied liver morphology, markers of hepatic oxidative stress and some liver enzymes in diabetic rats treated with the combined leaf extract (CLE) of Vernonia amygdalina (bitter leaf) and Azadirachta indica (neem).