Abstract
Gladiolus dalenii is a plant commonly used in many regions of Cameroon as a cure for various diseases like headaches, epilepsy, schizophrenia, and mood disorders. Recent studies have revealed that the aqueous extract of G. dalenii (AEGD) exhibited antidepressant-like properties in rats. Therefore, we hypothesized that the AEGD could protect from the stress-induced behavioral, neurochemical, and reproductive changes in rats. The objective of the present study was to elucidate the effect of the AEGD on behavioral, neurochemical, and reproductive characteristics, using female rats subjected to chronic immobilization stress. The chronic immobilization stress (3 h per day for 28 days) was applied to induce female reproductive and behavioral impairments in rats. The immobilization stress was provoked in rats by putting them separately inside cylindrical restrainers with ventilated doors at ambient temperature. The plant extract was given to rats orally everyday during 28 days, 5 min before induction of stress. On a daily basis, a vaginal smear was made to assess the duration of the different phases of the estrous cycle and at the end of the 28 days of chronic immobilization stress, the rat’s behavior was assessed in the elevated plus maze. They were sacrificed by cervical disruption. The organs were weighed, the ovary histology done, and the biochemical parameters assessed. The findings of this research revealed that G. dalenii increased the entries and the time of open arm exploration in the elevated plus maze. Evaluation of the biochemical parameters levels indicated that there was a significant reduction in the corticosterone, progesterone, and prolactin levels in the G. dalenii aqueous extract treated rats compared to stressed rats whereas the levels of serotonin, triglycerides, adrenaline, cholesterol, glucose estradiol, follicle stimulating hormone and luteinizing hormone were significantly increased in the stressed rats treated with, G. dalenii, diazepam and in co-administration of the plant extract and diazepam treated rats. Moreover stressed rats showed significant changes in estrous cycle phases compared to vehicle control and these changes of the estrous cycle were less in the rats treated with G. dalenii compared to the negative control rats. G. dalenii extract showed antagonizing effects on the stress-induced reproductive, behavioral, and neurochemical changes. These effects could be related to the bioactive molecules and secondary metabolites like alkaloids and flavonoids in the plant.
Highlights
Our results indicated that in the elevated plus maze, the chronic restraint stress (CRS) caused a decrease of the number open arms entries and a significant (p ≤ 0.05) decrease of the open arm time
The results of this study indicate that in the open arms, the number of entries, the time spent and the respective percentages significantly increased in the chronic restraint stressed nonepileptic adult female rats, in the presence of the aqueous extract of G. dalenii (AEGD) at doses of 7.5 and 15 mg/kg and were comparable to the effects of diazepam a recognized anxiolytic dose (3 mg/kg)
The findings revealed that the AEGD significantly increased the number of entries and the time spent in the open arm of the EPM
Summary
Many behavioral, biochemical, and reproductive parameters are altered. The level of corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) in the female hypothalamus is very important (Fredericksen et al, 1991), the females HPA axis responds to stress more intensely than the males (Lund et al, 2004). In women in their working environment, persistent stimulation of the HPA axis has been shown to hamper the hypothalamic–pituitary–ovarian axis (Imaki et al, 1996; Fenster et al, 1999). Rats with normal estrous cycle restrained inside a cylindrical restrainers (stress induction) exhibit behavioral, neurochemical, and reproductive impairments (Bowman et al, 2001; Sivaprasad et al, 2015)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
