Glial Fibrillary Acid Protein Expression and Behavioral Changes in Hippocampus Following Prenatal Co‑Administration of Ethyl Acetate Leaf Fraction of Tamarindus Indica and Aluminum Chloride in Wistar Rats
The endowment of various plant parts with important phytochemicalsneeded in the management of human health breeds lots of hope. The presentstudy investigated glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) expression and hippocampalbehavioral changes following prenatal co‑administration of ethyl acetate leaf fractionof Tamarindus indica (EATI) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3) in male Wistar rat pups.Methodology: Twenty pregnant Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n = 4).Group 1 received distilled water, while the treatment Groups 2 to5 received 200 mg/kg of AlCl3, followed by 400 and 800 mg/kg EATI in Groups 3 and 4, respectively,and 300 mg/kg Vitamin E in Group 5. All administrations lasted for 14 days fromprenatal day 7 till parturition. The male pups (n = 6) were curled for Morris watermaze (MWM) from postnatal day (PoND) 16–20, then sacrificed humanely onPoND 21. The brain tissues were harvested for oxidative stress studies (OSS) andthe demonstration of GFAP antibody. Result: The result of the MWM showedsignificantly high mean latency to locate the platform in Groups 2 and 5 whencompared to the control group (P < 0.05). The OSS revealed significantly highersuperoxide dismutase concentration in Groups 4 and 5 compared to that observed inGroup 2. The GFAP studies revealed significantly higher immunoreactivity scores inGroup 2 when compared to every other group (P < 0.05) in the CA1 hippocampalregion. Conclusion: EATI was associated with some protective potential duringprenatal aluminum chloride exposure in Wistar rats.