| Summary: | Spirulina is a blue-green alga (cyanobacterium) that has been consumed as food since
ancient times. Nowadays, spirulina is widely marketed as a food supplement
(nutraceutical) as it is believed to have many therapeutic benefits. Many of the
therapeutic benefits of spirulina are believed to be due to its high anti-oxidative activity.
Studies have shown that intermittent binge-like ethanol consumption during adolescent
period causes neuronal damage in specific parts of the brain. It has been suggested
that antioxidant therapy may provide some level of protection against neurotoxicity of
ethanol at cellular level and genomic level. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to
examine the protective effects of spirulina supplementation against ethanol-induced
neurotoxicity in the brain of adolescent rats. Male Sprague-Dawley rats were given
ethanol (10 g/kg/day, intermittent binge model), Spirulina platensis (1000 mg/kg/day)
or both from postnatal day 30 for two weeks. The cerebral hemispheres were
processed for routine histological staining and immunohistochemistry with anti-GFAP
and anti-synaptophysin antibodies. Ethanol-treated group showed significant deficit in
the numbers of neurons (per mm2
) in the CA 1 and CA3 region of the hippocampus and
also in the granule cell layer and hilar regions of the dentate gyrus. Spirulina
supplementation failed to provide protection against ethanol-induced neuronal loss in
these regions. Spirulina supplementation also failed to alter increased expression of
GFAP immunoreactivity induced by ethanol exposure. In conclusion, these findings
indicate that spirulina supplementation was not effective in reducing the ethanolinduced
neurotoxicity in the hippocampus and dentate gyrus of rats.
|
|---|