Rauwolfia vomitoria Root Bark Extract Affects the Cervical Ventral Horn Cells of the Spinal Cord
Abstract
Background: Rauwolfia vomitoria is a tropical shrub of Apocynaceae family, and a widely used nutraceutical containing bioactive alkaloids such as reserpine and yohimbine with reported antipsychotic, sedative and Parkinson-like effects. The pathway by which these become evident is through the spinal cord, a major reflex centre and conduction pathway of the brain and the rest of the body. This study therefore investigated the role of R. vomitoria on the microstructure of the cervical ventral horn cells of Wistar rats.Methods: Twenty-four adult male Wistar rats with average weight 221g were divided into four groups (n=6); control, 200 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg body weight of R. vomitoria root bark extract administered orally for seven days. On the eight day, the animals were anaesthetized with ketamine hydrochloride (10 mg/kg; i.p); and perfusion-fixed sacrificed. The cervical vertebrae were exposed and cracked-open and the spinal segment C3-C5 were excised and post-fixed in 10 % buffered formalin for 48 hours. The tissues were then routinely processed for histological study using haematoxylin and eosin staining method.Results: The results showed general weakness, dull and drowsy behaviour, with hypertrophy of the ventral horn neurons in the 200 mg/kg, 300 mg/kg and 400 mg/kg R. vomitoria groups. There was hyperplasia 300 mg/kg and karyorrhectic appearance of some of the ventral horn neurons with no difference (p > 0.05) in the spinal cervical ventral horn cell population between the test groups and the control.Conclusion: R. vomitoria caused some behavioural changes and alterations in the cellular integrity of the C3-C5 spinal ventral horn neurons.References
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22. Ekong MB, Peter AI. Co-treatment of rauwolfia vomitoria and gongronema latifolium affects cerebellar cell population in mice. J Animal Husbandry Dairy Sci 2017;1(1):1-7.
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31. Eluwa MA, Ekanem TB, Udoh PB, et al.. Teratogenic effects of crude ethanolic root bark and leaf extracts of rauwolfia vomitoria (apocynaceae) on the femur of albino wistar rat fetuses. J Histol 2013;(2013):363857.
2. Obembe A, Sokombab EN, Sijuwolaa OA, et al. Antipsychotic effects and tolerance of crude Rauvolfia vomitoria in Nigerian psychiatric inpatients. Phytother Res 1994;8:218-223.
3. Eluwa MA, Idumesaro NB, Ekong MB, Akpantah AO, Ekanem TB. Effects of aqueous extract of Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark on the cytoarchitecture of the cerebellum and neurobehaviour of adult male Wistar rats. IJAM 2008; 6(2):3081.
4. Bemis DL, Capodice JL, Gorroochurn P, Katz AE, Buttyan R. Anti-prostate cancer activity of a β-carboline alkaloid enriched extract from Rauwolfia vomitoria. International J Oncol 2006;29:1065.
5. Duez P, Chamart S, Vanhaelen M, Vanhaelen-Fastré R, Hanocq M, Molle L. Comparison between high-performance thin-layer chromatography-densitometry and high-performance liquid chromatography for the determination of ajmaline, reserpine and rescinnamine in Rauwolfia vomitoria root bark. J Chromatography A 1986;356:334.
6. Barcelos RCS, Benvegnü DM, Boufleur N, et al. Short term dietary fish oil supplementation improves motor deficiencies related to reserpine-induced parkinsonism in rats. Lipids 2010;46(2):143-149
7. Henry J, Scherman D. Radioligands of the vesicular monoamine transporter and their use as markers of monoamine storage vesicles. Biochem Pharmacol 1989;38(15):2395-2404.
8. Hai-Bo L, Yong P, Lu-qi H, Jun X, Pei-Gen X. Mechanism of selective inhibition of yohimbine and its derivatives in adrenoceptor α2 subtypes. J Chem 2013;(2013):783058
9. Oyedeji L (2007). Drugless Healing Secret. 3rd ed. Ibadan: Panse Press Ltd.
10. Ekong MB, Peter AI, Ekpene UU, et al. Gongronema latifolium modulates Rauwolfia vomitoria induced behavior, biochemicals, and histomorphology of the cerebral cortex. Int J Morphol 2015;33:77.
11. Shamon SD, Perez MI. Blood pressure lowering efficacy of reserpine for primary hypertension. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2009; CD007655.
12. Leão AHFF, Aldair JS, José RS. Molecular, neurochemical, and behavioral hallmarks of reserpine as a model for parkinson’s disease, new perspectives to a long-standing model. Brain Pathol 2015;25:377-390.
13. Lopez-Munoz F, Bhatara VS, Alamo C, Cuenca E. Historical approach to reserpine discovery and its introduction in psychiatry. Actas Esp Psiquiatr 2004;32(6):387-395.
14. Bisong SA, Brown R, Osim EE. Comparative effects of Rauwolfia vomitoria and chlorpromazine on locomotor behaviour and anxiety in mice. J Ethnopharmacol 2010;132:334-339.
15. Campbell-Tofte JI, Molgaard P, Josefsen K. Randomized and double-blinded pilot clinical study of the safety and anti-diabetic efficacy of the Rauvolfia-Citrus tea, as used in Nigerian traditional medicine. J Ethnopharmacol 2011;133:402-411
16. Okpako DT (1991). Principles of Pharmacology: A Tropical Approach. Cambridge University Press, New York.
17. Ekong MB, Ekpene UU, Nwakanma AA, Peter AI, Etuknwa BT. Rauvolfia vomitoria and Gongronema latifolium stimulate cortical cell proliferations. Ann Bioanthropol 2016;4:41-46.
18. Ekong MB, Ekpene UU, Thompson FE, Peter AI, Udoh NB, Ekandem GJ. Effects of co-treatment of Rauwolfia vomitoria and Gongronema latifolium on neurobehaviour and the neurohistology of the cerebral cortex in mice. Internet J Med Update 2015;10(1):3-10.
19. Ekong MB, Peter AI, Edagha IA, Ekpene UU, Friday DA. Rauwolfia vomitoria inhibits olfaction and modifies olfactory bulb cells. Brain Res Bullet 2016;124:206.
20. Ekong MB, Ekpene UU, Nwakanma AA, Bello EF. The combination of the extracts of rauwolfia vomitoria and gongronema latifolium show protective effects on the cerebellum. Synergy 2017;5:29-34.
21. Ekong MB, Nwakanma AA. Rauwolfia vomitoria and gongronema latifolium extracts influences cerebellar cortex. ADCN 2017;1(3):1-6.
22. Ekong MB, Peter AI. Co-treatment of rauwolfia vomitoria and gongronema latifolium affects cerebellar cell population in mice. J Animal Husbandry Dairy Sci 2017;1(1):1-7.
23. Meythaler JM, Tuel SM, Cross LL. Spinal cord seizures: a possible cause of isolated myoclonicactivity in traumatic spinal cord injury: case report. Paraplegia 1991;29:557-560.
24. Hashimoto T, Sato H, Shindo M, Hayashi R, Ikeda S. Peripheral mechanisms in tremor after traumatic neck injury. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2002;73(5):585-587.
25. Rothwell J. Reflex pathways in the spinal cord. In: Control of Human Voluntary Movement. Springer, Dordrecht. 1994
26. West KB, Applegate E. Today’s Medical Assistant: Clinical and Administrative Procedures. 3rd ed. Elsevier Health Sciences. 2015
27. Kusumoto FM. Cardiovascular Pathophysiology, Hayes Barton Press. 2004
28. Kroemer G, Galluzzi L, Vandenabeele P. Classification of cell death: recommendations of the nomenclature committee on cell death. Cell Death Differ 2009;16(1):3–11.
29. Porth C. Essentials of Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States. Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. 2011
30. Kaminsky N, Bihari O, Kanner S, Barzilai A. Connecting malfunctioning glial cells and brain degenerative disorders. Genomics Proteomics Bioinform 2016;14(3):155–165.
31. Eluwa MA, Ekanem TB, Udoh PB, et al.. Teratogenic effects of crude ethanolic root bark and leaf extracts of rauwolfia vomitoria (apocynaceae) on the femur of albino wistar rat fetuses. J Histol 2013;(2013):363857.
Published
2018-03-28
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