Neuroanatomical studies of crude aqueous annona muricata leaf extract on hippocampus of the maternal and foetal Wistar rats

The period of conception to child birth is a very sensitive period and occurs naturally without any interference but the food or drinks consumed during this period has a major role to play on the developmental stages of the fetus either positively or negatively. Hence, the critical study on some herbs/fruit that are commonly consume by pregnant women.The research was carried out basically to examine and evaluate the morphological and biochemical effects of crude aqueous soursop leaf extract (Annona muricata) on the hippocampus of both mother and foetus of wistar rats following prenatal administration.Thirty four adult wistar rats (24 females and 10 males) with an average weight of 180g + 22g were used for the research. They were fed with rat pellets and had access to clean water ad libitum and were acclimatize for 14 days. The males were put in a separate cage to prevent mating during acclimatization before the commencement of the experiment. Oestrous cycle was carried out. Fresh soursop leaves were obtained and was certified original and prepared for use. 0.5mls of aqueous soursop leaf extract was administered orally using a calibrated syringe fitted with oral cannula. The animals were sacrificed on the 22nd day of gestation before delivery by cervical dislocation and the foetuses were removed from the mothers. The brain of both the mothers and the foetuses were excised and weighed. The hippocampus were removed and homogenized for subsequent analyses for biochemical studies. There was no statistically significant increase in the weight gained by the animals across the groups, p<0.05, when compared with control. There was slight increase in the weight gained by the group in the 2nd week of gestation and 3rd week of gestation while comparing group two with three, there was no statistically significant increase in weight gained. Progesterone level shows no statistically significant difference comparing 2nd week gestational group with control. There was statistically significant increase in 2nd week gestational group compared with 3rd week gestational group while there was significant reduction in 3rd week gestational group when compared with control and 2nd week gestational groups.These results confirmed the deleterious effects of PEE generally on growth and further confirmed the adverse effects of PEE in both the SC and LGB of the rats investigated.

Key Words: Superior Colliculus, Prenatal, Annona Muricata