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Urtica dioica extract attenuates depressive like behavior and associative memory dysfunction in dexamethasone induced diabetic mice

Metabolic Brain Disease volume 29, pages 121–130 (2014)Cite this article

Abstract

Evidences suggest that glucocorticoids results in depression and is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes. Further diabetes induces oxidative stress and hippocampal dysfunction resulting in cognitive decline. Traditionally Urtica dioica has been used for diabetes mellitus and cognitive dysfunction. The present study investigated the effect of the hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica leaves (50 and 100 mg/kg, p.o.) in dexamethasone (1 mg/kg, i.m.) induced diabetes and its associated complications such as depressive like behavior and cognitive dysfunction. We observed that mice administered with chronic dexamethasone resulted in hypercortisolemia, oxidative stress, depressive like behavior, cognitive impairment, hyperglycemia with reduced body weight, increased water intake and decreased hippocampal glucose transporter-4 (GLUT4) mRNA expression. Urtica dioica significantly reduced hyperglycemia, plasma corticosterone, oxidative stress and depressive like behavior as well as improved associative memory and hippocampal GLUT4 mRNA expression comparable to rosiglitazone (5 mg/kg, p.o.). Further, Urtica dioica insignificantly improved spatial memory and serum insulin. In conclusion, Urtica dioica reversed dexamethasone induced hyperglycemia and its associated complications such as depressive like behavior and cognitive dysfunction.

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Acknowledgements

Authors would like to thank Council of Scientific & Industrial Research, New Delhi for financial assistance as Senior Research Fellowship and Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, India.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Jaypee University of Information Technology, Waknaghat, Himachal Pradesh, 173234, India

    Sita Sharan Patel & Malairaman Udayabanu

  2. Lakshmi Narain College of Pharmacy, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

    Sita Sharan Patel

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  1. Sita Sharan Patel
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  2. Malairaman Udayabanu
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Correspondence to Malairaman Udayabanu.

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Patel, S.S., Udayabanu, M. Urtica dioica extract attenuates depressive like behavior and associative memory dysfunction in dexamethasone induced diabetic mice. Metab Brain Dis 29, 121–130 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-014-9480-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-014-9480-0

Keywords

  • Cognition
  • Hyperglycemia
  • Rosiglitazone
  • Depression
  • Dexamethasone
  • Urtica dioica