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The effects of black garlic ethanol extract on the spatial memory and estimated total number of pyramidal cells of the hippocampus of monosodium glutamate-exposed adolescent male Wistar rats

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Abstract

Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is believed to exert deleterious effects on various organs, including the hippocampus, likely via the oxidative stress pathway. Garlic (Alium sativum L.), which is considered to possess potent antioxidant activity, has been used as traditional remedy for various ailments since ancient times. We have investigated the effects of black garlic, a fermented form of garlic, on spatial memory and estimated the total number of pyramidal cells of the hippocampus in adolescent male Wistar rats treated with MSG. Twenty-five rats were divided into five groups: C− group, which received normal saline; C+ group, which was exposed to 2 mg/g body weight (bw) of MSG; three treatment groups (T2.5, T5, T10), which were treated with black garlic extract (2.5, 5, 10 mg/200 g bw, respectively) and MSG. The spatial memory test was carried out using the Morris water maze (MWM) procedure, and the total number of pyramidal cells of the hippocampus was estimated using the physical disector design. The groups treated with black garlic extract were found to have a shorter path length than the C− and C+ groups in the escape acquisition phase of the MWM test. The estimated total number of pyramidal cells in the CA1 region of the hippocampus was higher in all treated groups than that of the C+ group. Based on these results, we conclude that combined administration of black garlic and MSG may alter the spatial memory functioning and total number of pyramidal neurons of the CA1 region of the hippocampus of rats.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by grant no. LPPM-UGM/700/BID.I/2012 of Universitas Gadjah Mada. The preparation of this manuscript was partially funded by SAME project of DGHE, the Ministry of Education and Culture, the Republic of Indonesia. The authors would like to thank M. Aminuddin, Titis Nurmasitoh, Suparno (Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, UGM), Sumaryati (Department of Histology and Cellular Biology, Faculty of Medicine, UGM), and Ari (Biological Pharmacy Laboratory of Medical Faculty of UII) for their technical assistance.

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  1. The Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, 55281, Indonesia

    Ery Hermawati & Ginus Partadiredja

  2. Medical Faculty of Tanjungpura University, Pontianak, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

    Ery Hermawati

  3. The Department of Anatomy, Embryology, and Anthropology, Universitas Gadjah Mada, Yogyakarta, Indonesia

    Dwi Cahyani Ratna Sari

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  1. Ery Hermawati
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Hermawati, E., Sari, D.C.R. & Partadiredja, G. The effects of black garlic ethanol extract on the spatial memory and estimated total number of pyramidal cells of the hippocampus of monosodium glutamate-exposed adolescent male Wistar rats. Anat Sci Int 90, 275–286 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12565-014-0262-x

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