Evaluation of the protective effects of tocotrienol-rich fraction from palm oil on the dentate gyrus following chronic restraint stress in rats
Exposure to chronic restraint stress has been shown to cause a number of morphological changes in the hippocampal formation of rats. Tocotrienol, an isoform of vitamin E, exhibits numerous health benefits, different from those of tocopherol. Recent studies have demonstrated that tocotrienol preven...
| Main Authors: | , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Published: |
Universidade de São Paulo
2013
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| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-82502013000200020 http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S1984-82502013000200020 http://eprints.usm.my/39024/1/Evaluation_of_the_protective_effects_of_tocotrienol%2Drich_fraction_from_palm_oil_on_the_dentate_gyrus.pdf |
| Summary: | Exposure to chronic restraint stress has been shown to cause a number of morphological changes in the
hippocampal formation of rats. Tocotrienol, an isoform of vitamin E, exhibits numerous health benefits,
different from those of tocopherol. Recent studies have demonstrated that tocotrienol prevents stressinduced
changes in the gastric mucosa, thus indicating that it may also protect other organs such as the
brain from the damaging effects of stress. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to investigate
the protective effect of tocotrienol-rich fraction (TRF) extracted from palm oil on the dentate gyrus of
rats following exposure to chronic restraint stress. Thirty-six male Sprague Dawley rats were divided
into four groups: control, stress, tocotrienol and combination of stress and tocotrienol. Animals were
stressed by restraining them for 5 hours every day for 21 consecutive days. TRF was administered via
oral gavage at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight. Our results showed that the plasma corticosterone
level was significantly increased in response to stress, compared to the control. The results confirmed
previous findings that chronic restraint stress suppresses cellular proliferation and reduces granule cell
number in the dentate gyrus. However, TRF supplementation failed to prevent or minimize these stressinduced
changes. Therefore, we conclude that TRF at the current dosage is not effective in preventing
the morphological changes in the dentate gyrus induced by chronic restraint stress. |
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