A study of effect of Centella asiatica on oxidative markers in the hippocampus of offsprings born to alcohol-fed pregnant rats and the correlation with their cognitive functions

Alcohol consumption causes several harmful effects on the organs, which is hugely understated. Many deformities occur in the fetus when pregnant mothers indulge in alcoholism. Alcohol is a known teratogen, hence organ formation, particularly development of parts brain critical for cognitive function may be affected. The oxidative brain damage also could contribute to reduced cognitive efficiency of brain exposed to alcohol. In this study, effect of Centella asiatica in relieving the oxidative brain damage in offspring of alcohol fed mother rats was evaluated. In this study we fed alcohol (5 g/kg body weight, 30% w/v) to a group of pregnant Wistar rats during gestation period, and another group served as control. Four groups of rats (n = 6 each) were selected from the offspring of these mother rats. The groups were, control, positive (treated) control, untreated and treated from alcohol-fed mother. Their cognitive parameters were tested in water maze, shuttle box and compared. Further their oxidative status was evaluated by estimating malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl, total antioxidants and glutathione reductase (GSH) in hippocampus. The results suggested that there was significantly high cognitive performance in maze test and shuttle box memory retention in rats treated with C. asiatica water extract and the antioxidant levels were high in their hippocampus. The outcome of the study suggested that C. asiatica produced beneficial effects in reversing the alcohol induced brain damage in pregnancy.