Moringa oleifera leaf powder ameriorate neuronal degeneration in the entorhinal cortex of adolescent male alcoholic rats

Moringa oleifera is an important medicinal plant that has shown great promise in CNS conditions. However, the potential protective effect of M. oleifera in the entorhinal cortex (EC) of adolescent rats with Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) is still unknown. The effect of M. oleifera was therefore assessed in an adolescent model of AUD.Two groups of rats were orogastrically fed thrice daily with 5 g/kg ethanol (25% w/v), and 5 g/kg ethanol (25% w/v) plus M. oleifera (10 mg/kg body weight) respectively in diluted nutritionally complete diet (50%v/v). A control group was fed a nutritionally complete diet (50%v/v) made isocaloric with glucose. Cytoarchitectural study of the entorhinal cortex was examined with H&E. The extent of damage was assessed biochemically by determination of tissue levels of lipid peroxidation and protein oxidation. After 4 days of binge alcohol treatment, histologic and biochemical indices of degeneration in EC were significantly reduced by M. oleifera supplementation compared with the non-supplemented rats. In conclusion, M. oleifera attenuates alcohol-induced entorhinal degeneration in the rats by alleviating oxidative stress and reducing the expression of degenerative changes in the EC.Key words: Alcoholism, Medicinal plant, Nutraceuticals, Neuroprotectio

Degeneration of Phrenic Motor Neurons Induces Long-Term Diaphragm Deficits following Mid-Cervical Spinal Contusion in Mice.

Abstract A primary cause of morbidity and mortality following cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) is respiratory compromise, regardless of the level of trauma. In particular, SCI at mid-cervical regions targets degeneration of both descending bulbospinal respiratory axons and cell bodies of phrenic motor neurons, resulting in deficits in the function of the diaphragm, the primary muscle of inspiration. Contusion-type trauma to the cervical spinal cord is one of the most common forms of human SCI; however, few studies have evaluated mid-cervical contusion in animal models or characterized consequent histopathological and functional effects of degeneration of phrenic motor neuron-diaphragm circuitry. We have generated a mouse model of cervical contusion SCI that unilaterally targets both C4 and C5 levels, the location of the phrenic motor neuron pool, and have examined histological and functional outcomes for up to 6 weeks post-injury. We report that phrenic motor neuron loss in cervical spinal cord, phrenic nerve axonal degeneration, and denervation at diaphragm neuromuscular junctions (NMJ) resulted in compromised ipsilateral diaphragm function, as demonstrated by persistent reduction in diaphragm compound muscle action potential amplitudes following phrenic nerve stimulation and abnormalities in spontaneous diaphragm electromyography (EMG) recordings. This injury paradigm is reproducible, does not require ventilatory assistance, and provides proof-of-principle that generation of unilateral cervical contusion is a feasible strategy for modeling diaphragmatic/respiratory deficits in mice. This study and its accompanying analyses pave the way for using transgenic mouse technology to explore the function of specific genes in the pathophysiology of phrenic motor neuron degeneration and respiratory dysfunction following cervical SCI.JOURNAL ARTICLESCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe