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. 2022 Sep 26:2022:9470178.
doi: 10.1155/2022/9470178. eCollection 2022.

Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina Infusions Improve Redox Status in Rat Brain

Affiliations

Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina Infusions Improve Redox Status in Rat Brain

Damilare Emmanuel Rotimi et al. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. .

Abstract

The study investigated the effects of Zingiber officinale root and Vernonia amygdalina leaf on the brain redox status of Wistar rats. Twenty-four (24) rats weighing 160 ± 20 g were randomly assigned into four (4) groups, each with six (6) rats. Animals in Group 1 (control) were orally administered distilled water (1 mL), while the test groups were orally administered 5 mg/mL of either Z. officinale, V. amygdalina infusion, or a combination of both, respectively, for 7 days. The rats were sacrificed at the end of treatments and blood and tissue were harvested and prepared for biochemical assays. Results showed that administration of V. amygdalina and Z. officinale, as well as their coadministration, reduced the levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and myeloperoxidase (MPO) in rat brain tissue compared with the control group. Conversely, coadministration of V. amygdalina and Z. officinale increased the levels of reduced glutathione (GSH) in rat brain tissue compared with the control group. However, the administration of the infusions singly, as well as the combination of both infusions, did not have any effect on the rat brain levels of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and catalase (CAT) antioxidant enzymes compared to the control. Taken together, the findings indicate that the V. amygdalina and Z. officinale tea infusions have favorable antioxidant properties in the rat brain. The findings are confirmatory and contribute to deepening our understanding of the health-promoting effects of V. amygdalina and Z. officinale tea infusions.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The effect of Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina on the levels of rat brain antioxidant molecules: (a) superoxide dismutase, (b) Catalase, (c) glutathione peroxidase, and (d) reduced glutathione. Each value is a mean of six replicates ± SEM. Values bearing the asterisk are significantly different compared to the control at p< 0.05.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The effect of Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina on the level of rat brain oxidative stress markers: (a) malondialdehyde and (b) DNA fragmentation. Values are the mean of six replicates ± SEM. Bars with the asterisk are significantly different from the control at p < 0.05.
Figure 3
Figure 3
The effect of Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina on the level of rat brain biochemical parameters: (a) protein concentration, (b) nitric oxide, (c) acetylcholine esterase, and (d) myeloperoxidase. Values are the mean of six replicates ± SEM. Bars with the asterisk are significantly different from the control at p < 0.05.
Figure 4
Figure 4
The effect of Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina on rat brain morphology: (a) control, (b) Vernonia amygdalina, (c) Zingiber officinale, and (d) combination of Zingiber officinale and Vernonia amygdalina. H&E staining (x100). The sections show normal brain tissue composed of preserved neuronal bodies surrounded by a fibrillary glial matrix (cerebral and hippocampal).

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