Objective: The study was aimed at investigating the hypoglycemic, antioxidant and Hepatoprotective effects of Chrysophyllum albidum in diabetes induced male Wistar rats. Methods: Ethanol root bark extract was administered to thirty rats of six groups A, B, C, D, E and F of five rats each, weighing between 150-170g. Diabetes was induced in Groups B, C, D, E and F using a single intraperitoneal injection of 140mg/kg of Alloxan after an overnight fast. Group A served as the normal control while Group B served as the diabetic control. Group C had metformin of 500mg while Groups D, E and F received 50, 100 and 200mg/kg / bw/ day of the plant extract respectively through orogastric intubation. All the animals were given normal rat chow and water freely. Blood glucose level was determined and the experiment lasted for 3 weeks. On day 21 after an overnight fast, animal were anaesthetized and blood samples were collected by cardiac puncture under inhaled chloroform for the determination of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT) and malondialdehyde (MDA) assays. The liver function test, ALT, AST and ALP was determined. Result: This showed that C. albidum and metformin significantly (p < 0.05) lowered the Fasting blood glucose (FBS), the activities of SOD and CAT was dose- dependently increase when compared to the diabetic  control and there was also a reduction of  MDA in the treated groups. There was decrease in the activity of ALT, AST and ALP, which was also dose-dependent. Conclusion: The results showed that the plant has significant antidiabetic activity and could therefore be employed for the treatment of diabetes mellitus in which free radicals are implicated.Bangladesh Journal of Medical Science Vol. 12 No. 03 July ’13 Page 298-304 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/bjms.v12i3.12721

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Oxidative stress and free radical production is an etiology to some neurodegenerative diseases which may be preventable by prior neuronal protection using herbs. Rauwolfia vomitoria and Gongronema latifolium are medicinal herbs with antioxidant, anti-diabetic and analgesic properties among others. While R. vomitoria acts as a brain stimulant, as well as a depressant, neurotoxic effects have also been reported, which G. latifolium has shown the potential to mitigate. This study therefore investigated the effects of the combination of R. vomitoria and G. latifolium on young rats' cerebellar cortex. Twenty young male Wistar rats (100-150 g) were divided equally into 4 groups (n=5). Oral doses of the vehicle (Tween 20™), ethanolic extracts of 200 mg/kg of R. vomitoria (RV), 200 mg/kg of G. latifolium (GL), and the combination of both (RV + GL) were given to the animals for 14 days. On day 15, the animals were sacrificed after ketamine sedation and perfusion-fixed with 10% buffered-formalin. The cerebella were excised and processed for histomorphology by silver impregnation technique and immunolabelled with anti-neuron specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). The histology results showed atrophied Purkinje and other neurons with increased NSE and GFAP expressions in the RV group, which were not as such in the GL and RV+GL groups, an indication of cerebellar cortical injury. In conclusion, RV was injurious to the cerebellar cortical neurons and also stimulated NSE and GFAP, but these RV-induced traumas were slightly mitigated with GL combination. This preliminary report of RV+GL combination may be considered an alternative to RV single treatment for better disease management and brain protection.

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Combined oral contraceptive pill contains ethinyl estradiol and a synthetic progestin, which prevent ovulation by suppressing the release of the gonadotropins resulting in the inhibition of ovarian follicles’ development. Although advantageous in birth control, the impact on learning and memory is limited necessitating this study on its effect on spatial learning, and hippocampal CA3 microstructure. Thirty two female Wistar rats of average body weight 200 g were equally divided (n = 8) into four groups; 0.002 mg/kg levonorgestrel plus 0.00043 mg/kg ethinyl estradiol (COCP) were administered orally for 21, 42 and 63 days. 24 hours after the last administration the rats underwent Morris water maze test and were sacrificed by transcardial perfusion-fixation. Their hippocampal regions were processed for histological study, and immunolabelled with anti-neuron specific enolase (NSE) and glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP). Results showed that the COCP test groups had shorter escape latencies (p ≤ 0.05) in the visible and hidden platform trials. The COCP test groups showed no difference in neuronal population, although some of the hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons were either atrophic and/or karyorrhectic, with shrunken and dense nuclei. NSE expression was lower (p ≤ 0.05) in the 21, 42 and 63 days COCP groups, while GFAP expression was lower in the 21 days COCP group, but not different in the 42 and 63 days COCP groups compared with the control. These preliminary results show that COCP influence spatial learning, and may also reduce neuronal metabolic activity, while increasing astrocytic activity in the hippocampal CA3.