Abstract:
The evidence of problems resulting to neurodegenerative diseases stimulated
neuroscientists to investigate and develop therapeutic interventions for the sake of
prevention and treatment of this disease using alternatives to mammalian model with
invertebrates being the most promising. Various biological and pharmacological
effects have been reported for hesperidin. It possesses the anti-oxidant, anti-
inflammatory, and anti-carcinogenic activities. This study sought to determine the
effect of dietary hesperidin supplementation on Nauphoeta cinerea model of
aluminium-induced neurotoxocity. Cockroach nymphs were divided into four
groups of 30 insects each. Group I was fed basal diet; group II was fed diet
supplemented with 0.1% AlCl 3; group III was fed diet supplemented with 0.1% AlCl 3
and 0.1% hesperidin while group IV was fed diet supplemented with 0.1%
hesperidin only. After 35 days, lethality response, locomotor and behavioral assay
was carried out. The insects were anesthetized on ice, the head rapidly dissected and
homogenized for biochemical assays which includes reactive oxygen species (ROS),
TBARS, nitric oxide, reduced glutathione and Total thiol levels as well as phenol
oxidase, GST, acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and monoamine oxidase (MAO)
activities.
The
results
revealed
that
AlCl 3 supplemented
diet
induced
neurobehavioural and neurochemical alterations which was ameliorated by diet
supplemented with hesperidin as evident by significant improvement in behaviour
and antioxidant status, reduced AChE and MAO activities, increased L-DOPA and
GSH content as well as increased phenoloxidase and glutathione transferase
activities in the treated insects when compared to the untreated ones. The result
reported for the first time the neuroprotective effect of hesperidin against AlCl 3 -
induced neurotoxicity in Lobster cockroaches thus, proposing this invertebrate as a
viable alternative model for the study of aluminium-induced neurotoxicity.
