Author/Authors :
Mehdizadeh، Mehdi نويسنده , , Dabaghian، Fataneh نويسنده Research Institute for Islamic and Complementary Medicine (RICM), Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , , Nejhadi، Akram نويسنده Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Army University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , , Fallah-huseini، Hassan نويسنده Institute of Medicinal Plants, Jihad University (ACECR), Tehran Province, Tehran, Iran , , Choopani، Samira نويسنده Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Pasteur Institute, Tehran, Iran , , Shekarriz، Nima نويسنده Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , , Molavi، Nima نويسنده Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , , Basirat، Arghavan نويسنده Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , , Mohammadzadeh Kazorgah، Farzaneh نويسنده Department of Anatomy, Faculty of Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran , , Samzadeh-Kermani، Alireza نويسنده Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Sciences, Zabol University, Zabol, Iran , , Soleimani Asl، Sara نويسنده Department of Anatomical Sciences, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, Iran ,
Abstract :
Objective: The spice Zingiber officinale or ginger possesses antioxidant activity and neuroprotective
effects.
The
effects
of
this
traditional
herbal
medicine
on
3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine
(MDMA) induced neurotoxicity have not yet been studied. The present
study
considers
the
effects
of
Zingiber
officinale
on
MDMA-induced
spatial
memory
impairment
and apoptosis in the hippocampus of male rats.
Materials and Methods: In this experimental study, 21 adult male Sprague Dawley rats (200-250 g) were classified into three groups (control, MDMA, and MDMA plus ginger). The groups were intraperitoneally administered 10 mg/kg MDMA, 10 mg/kg MDMA plus 100 mg/kg ginger extract, or 1 cc/kg normal saline as the control solution for one week (n=7 per group). Learning memory was assessed by Morris water maze (MWM) after the last administration. Finally, the brains were removed to study the cell number in the cornu ammonis (CA1) hippocampus by light microscope, Bcl-2 by immunoblotting,
and
Bax
expression
by
reverse
transcription
polymerase
chain
reaction
(RT-PCR).
Data was analyzed using SPSS 16 software and a one-way ANOVA
test.
Results: Escape latency and traveled distances decreased significantly in the MDMA plus ginger group relative to the MDMA group (p < 0.001). Cell number increased in the MDMA plus ginger group in comparison to the MDMA group. Down-regulation of Bcl-2 and up-regulation of Bax were observed in the MDMA plus ginger group in comparison to the MDMA group (p < 0.05).
Conclusion: Our findings suggest that ginger consumption may lead to an improvement of MDMA-induced neurotoxicity.
