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Enhancement of hippocampal CA3 neuronal dendritic arborization by Centella asiatica (Linn) fresh leaf extract treatment in adult rats

Gadahad MR, Rao M, Rao G

J Chin Med Assoc, 2008 Jan;71(1):6-13.
PMID: 18218554

BACKGROUND: Centella asiatica (CeA) is a creeper, growing in moist places in India and other Asian countries. Leaves of CeA are used for memory enhancement in the Ayurvedic system of medicine, an alternate system of medicine in India. In the present study, we investigated the role of CeA fresh leaf extract treatment on the dendritic morphology of hippocampal CA3 neurons, one of the regions concerned with learning and memory, in adult rats.
METHODS: In the present study, adult rats (2.5 months old) were fed with 2, 4 and 6 mL/kg body weight of fresh leaf extract of CeA for 2, 4 and 6 weeks, respectively. After the treatment period, the rats were killed, brains were removed and hippocampal neurons were impregnated with silver nitrate (Golgi staining). Hippocampal CA3 neurons were traced using camera lucida, and dendritic branching points (a measure of dendritic arborization) and intersections (a measure of dendritic length) were quantified. These data were compared with those of age-matched control rats.
RESULTS: The results showed a significant increase in the dendritic length (intersections) and dendritic branching points along the length of both apical and basal dendrites in rats treated with 6 mL/kg body weight/day of CeA for 6 weeks. However, the rats treated with 2 and 4 mL/kg body weight/day for 2 and 4 weeks did not show any significant change in hippocampal CA3 neuronal dendritic arborization.
CONCLUSION: We conclude that constituents present in Centella asiatica fresh leaf extract has neuronal dendritic growth-stimulating properties.

Matched MeSH terms: Dendrites/drug effects*
Fulltext Maternal dexamethasone exposure during pregnancy in rats disrupts gonadotropin-releasing hormone neuronal development in the offspring

Lim WL, Soga T, Parhar IS

Cell Tissue Res, 2014 Feb;355(2):409-23.
PMID: 24374911 DOI: 10.1007/s00441-013-1765-9

The migration of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) neurons from the olfactory placode to the preoptic area (POA) from embryonic day 13 is important for successful reproduction during adulthood. Whether maternal glucocorticoid exposure alters GnRH neuronal morphology and number in the offspring is unknown. This study determines the effect of maternal dexamethasone (DEX) exposure on enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) driven by GnRH promoter neurons (TG-GnRH) in transgenic rats dual-labelled with GnRH immunofluorescence (IF-GnRH). The TG-GnRH neurons were examined in intact male and female rats at different postnatal ages, as a marker for GnRH promoter activity. Pregnant females were subcutaneously injected with DEX (0.1 mg/kg) or vehicle daily during gestation days 13-20 to examine the number of GnRH neurons in P0 male offspring. The total number of TG-GnRH neurons and TG-GnRH/IF-GnRH neuronal ratio increased from P0 and P5 stages to P47-52 stages, suggesting temporal regulation of GnRH promoter activity during postnatal development in intact rats. In DEX-treated P0 males, the number of IF-GnRH neurons decreased within the medial septum, organum vasculosom of the lamina terminalis (OVLT) and anterior hypothalamus. The percentage of TG-GnRH neurons with branched dendritic structures decreased in the OVLT of DEX-P0 males. These results suggest that maternal DEX exposure affects the number and dendritic development of early postnatal GnRH neurons in the OVLT/POA, which may lead to altered reproductive functions in adults.

Matched MeSH terms: Dendrites/drug effects

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