Psychoimmunological effects of dioscorea in ovariectomized rats: role of anxiety level

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Anxiety levels in rats are correlated with interleukin-2 (IL-2) levels in the brain. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of dioscorea (wild yam), a Chinese medicine, on emotional behavior and IL-2 levels in the brain of ovariectomized (OVX) rats.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>One month after ovariectomy, female Wistar rats were screened in the elevated plus-maze (EPM) test to measure anxiety levels and divided into low anxiety (LA) and high anxiety (HA) groups, which were then given dioscorea (250, 750, or 1500 mg/kg/day) by oral gavage for 27 days and were tested in the EPM on day 23 of administration and in the forced swim test (FST) on days 24 and 25, then 3 days later, the brain was removed and IL-2 levels measured.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Compared to sham-operated rats, anxiety behavior in the EPM was increased in half of the OVX rats. After chronic dioscorea treatment, a decrease in anxiety and IL-2 levels was observed in the HA OVX rats. Despair behavior in the FST was inhibited by the highest dosage of dioscorea.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These results show that OVX-induced anxiety and changes in neuroimmunological function in the cortex are reversed by dioscorea treatment. Furthermore, individual differences need to be taken into account when psychoneuroimmunological issues are measured and the EPM is a useful tool for determining anxiety levels when examining anxiety-related issues.</p

Effect of Turmerin on Endothelial Denudation by Air Drying

The objective of this study is to determine if arterial endothelial injury can be attenuated by local application of 80 μg/ml turmerin at the site of injury and by oral administration of the same dose. Anesthetized Lewis rats (n =12) weighing 200 ± 4.0 gms randomly were assigned to two groups. After 5 min of air drying a segment of right carotid artery, six rats were treated locally 80μg/ml with turmerin and the rest were treated with 0.9% NaCl. Turmerin was then administered by gavage (80 μg) every 24 hrs for 14 days. Animals were sacrificed on day 14 and the carotid artery removed from the injured site for histological analysis and serum collected for lipid peroxidation analysis by measuring malondialdehyde (MDA) and conjugated dienes. This study showed no proliferation in the intima of one rat out of six rats treated with turmerin while there was significant variation between the treated rats and the controls. MDA for control was 0.593±0.02 nanomoles/ml while turmerin was 0.187±0.04 (p≤0.01); conjugated diene for control was 0.402±0.03 nanomoles/ml while turmerin was 0.212±0.04 nanomoles/ml (p ≤0.05). Although there was significant reduction in serum peroxidation activity, the histological findings indicate that attenuation of carotid artery injury may involve other factors than decreased lipid peroxidation