Rauwolfia vomitoria and Gongronema latifolium are medicinal herbs used for the treatment of hypertension, malaria, mental and intestinal disorders. G. latifolium is known to prevent the side effects reported for R. vomitoria. Therefore we decided to investigate what effects a combination treatment of G. latifolium and R. vomitoria would have on mice. Thirty male mice weighing 15-26 g were divided into 4 groups of 6 mice each. Groups 2, 3 and 4 were the treatment groups, and were treated with 150 mg/kg of R. vomitoria root bark extract, 200 mg/kg of G. latifolium leaf extract, and combination of both extracts, respectively. The control group received 0.5 mL of 20% Tween. The treatments were by oral gavages and lasted for 7 days. The open field maze neurobehavioural test was performed on day 8 to ascertain locomotion, exploration and anxiety, and the animals were immediately sacrificed. Results indicate lower body weights, though no difference was seen in the brain weights and behavioural test parameters in the treatment groups compared with the control group. Neurohistology of the cerebellum showed slight hypertrophy of Purkinje cells, with brain matrix loss in treatment groups 2 and 3, but group 4 showed no apparent histopathology. The cellular population was higher, while the cellular sizes and total cellular areas were lower in all the treatment groups. This study showed that R. vomitoria root bark and G. latifolium leaf extracts may individually cause cerebellar cytoarchitecture changes, which may be prevented with the combination of both remedies.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.