Abstract
Vascular dementia (VaD) is well recognized as the second most familiar form of dementia in the aged population. The present study is aimed to investigate the neuroprotective effects of ethanolic extract of leaves of Ocimum sanctum (EEOS) against hyperhomocysteinemia (HHcy)-induced vascular dementia (VaD) in Wistar rats. HHcy was induced by administering L-methionine (1.7 g/kg, p.o) for 4 weeks. Donepezil (0.1 mg/kg, p.o.) and EEOS (100 mg/kg, 200 mg/kg, 400 mg/kg, p.o.) were administered from the 14th day of L-methionine treatment. The behavioral impairment caused due to HHcy in rats was assessed by the Morris water maze (MWM) and Y-maze tests using a video tracking system. Biochemical estimations and aortic ring assay were also performed followed by a molecular docking analysis of active chemical constituents present in the leaves of Ocimum sanctum Linn. In this study, the EEOS treatment in hyperhomocysteinemic rats has showed significant improvement in spatial learning and working memory performance. The EEOS treatment further increased nitric oxide bioavailability and significantly altered all serum and brain biochemical parameters in a dose-dependent manner. The docking analysis revealed that among all the phytoconstituents of Ocimum sanctum compound (IX), molludistin has showed good inhibitory activity against S-adenosyl homocysteine, thus preventing homocysteine formation and may be responsible for potential effects of EEOS against HHcy-induced VaD. From our results, we conclude that EEOS can be used as a promising adjunct therapy for treatment of HHcy-induced VaD and oxidative stress.
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Change history
08 January 2021
In the original version of this book, Chapter 21 was inadvertently published by including one additional author Dinesh Kumar Bharatraj. His name has now been removed in this revised version of the book.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Dr. P. Rajeshwar Reddy (Chairman, Anurag Group of Institutions) for providing research facilities to carry out this work.
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The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
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Pasangulapati, J.P., Ravula, A.R., Kanala, D.R., Boyina, S., Gangarapu, K., Boyina, H.K. (2020). Ocimum Sanctum Linn: A Potential Adjunct Therapy for Hyperhomocysteinemia-Induced Vascular Dementia. In: Vlamos, P. (eds) GeNeDis 2018. Advances in Experimental Medicine and Biology, vol 1195. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-32633-3_30
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