Glial fibrillary acid protein expression and behavioral changes in hippocampus following prenatal co-administration of ethyl acetate leaf fraction of Tamarindus Indica and aluminum chloride in wistar rats

Background: The endowment of various plant parts with important phytochemicals needed in the management of human health breeds lots of hope. The present study investigated glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP) expression and hippocampal behavioral changes following prenatal co-administration of ethyl acetate leaf fraction of Tamarindus indica (EATI) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3) in male Wistar rat pups. Methodology: Twenty pregnant Wistar rats were divided into five groups (n = 4). Group 1 received distilled water, while the treatment Groups 2 to5 received 200 mg/kg of AlCl3, followed by 400 and 800 mg/kg EATI in Groups 3 and 4, respectively, and 300 mg/kg Vitamin E in Group 5. All administrations lasted for 14 days from prenatal day 7 till parturition. The male pups (n = 6) were curled for Morris water maze (MWM) from postnatal day (PoND) 16–20, then sacrificed humanely on PoND 21. The brain tissues were harvested for oxidative stress studies (OSS) and the demonstration of GFAP antibody. Result: The result of the MWM showed significantly high mean latency to locate the platform in Groups 2 and 5 when compared to the control group (P < 0.05). The OSS revealed significantly higher superoxide dismutase concentration in Groups 4 and 5 compared to that observed in Group 2. The GFAP studies revealed significantly higher immunoreactivity scores in Group 2 when compared to every other group (P < 0.05) in the CA1 hippocampal region. Conclusion: EATI was associated with some protective potential during prenatal aluminum chloride exposure in Wistar rats.