Date of Award

10-20-2024

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

MPhil in Biological and Biomedical Sciences

First Advisor

Dr Fazal Arain

Second Advisor

Dr Hassan Salman Siddiqi

Third Advisor

Dr Saara Ahmed Mudassir

Department

Biological and Biomedical Sciences

Abstract

Epilepsy poses a therapeutic challenge as 30 % of the patients suffer from drug resistance. The most common form of drug-resistant epilepsy is Temporal Lobe Epilepsy with Hippocampal sclerosis (TLE-HS) which is often associated with memory loss and depression affecting the quality of life. Moringa oleifera’s extract has been reported to have anticonvulsant and Neuroprotective effects. Objectives: To evaluate the effect of Moringa oleifera extract in alleviating the symptoms of depression in the TLE-HS model. 2: to assess the effect of Moringa oleifera Extract in improving the memory impairment associated with the TLE-HS. 3: Determine the changes in spatial and quantitative expression of Parv albumin GABAergic neurons. Materials and methods: Sprague Dawley rats were divided into four groups: Negative controls, Diseased control, Positive control, and Herbal treated groups. Lithium-Pilocarpine protocol was followed to develop TLE-HS in rats. MOE was administered orally (500mg/kg) to Herbal treated, Valproic acid (500mg/kg) was given to the positive control, and distilled water was given to diseased and control group rats for the next six weeks. After six weeks, the Forced Swim Test and Novel Object Recognition Test were conducted to test for improvements in the symptoms of depression or memory loss. Brain samples were collected for subsequent Nissl staining and immunofluorescence processing. Results and Conclusion: Six weeks after oral administration of MOE, TLE-HS rats showed significant improvement in depression symptoms, as indicated by the Forced Swim Test. While the Novel Object Recognition Test revealed relative memory improvement comparable to the positive control. An independent sample t-test showed a significant improvement in the memory of Moringa treated group compared to the diseased group. Nissl staining demonstrated significant preservation of hippocampal cytoarchitecture in MOE-treated rats compared to diseased ones. Immunofluorescence analysis for Parvalbumin GABAergic neurons suggested a neuroprotective effect of MOE, particularly in the Cornu Ammonis regions, especially the CA3 areas of the hippocampus. This study suggests that Moringa Oleifera extract could be a promising treatment for depression and memory loss in TLE-HS. Additional clinical trials are necessary to confirm its efficacy, and further investigation into the neuroprotective mechanism for Parvalbumin neurons is warranted

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Last Page

102

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