Author:
Murni Syahyati Gultom ,Chrismis Novalinda Ginting ,Linda Chiuman ,Steven Theo
Abstract
Benzene is poisonous to the human body and has been linked to neuro-toxic and neurodegenerative illnesses. Bay leaf is extremely safe to consume because it has been shown in experimental animals to have no toxic, teratogenic, or genotoxic effects and to have a strong antioxidant effect. The purpose of this study is to assess the neuroprotective impact of an ethanolic extract of bay leaf on rats exposed to benzene. The study was divided into 11 groups: group 1 was assigned to a control condition, groups 2 and 3 were assigned to negative controls, groups 4 and 5 were assigned to positive controls, and groups 6-11 were assigned to receive an ethanol extract of bay leaf. For 21 days, benzene was injected intraperitoneally every three and six days and the extract was delivered orally. On day 22, rats were sedated and their brains were collected and examined for IL-4 and IL-6 levels using an Elisa kit and a 450 nm microplate reader. The results indicated that the levels of IL-4 and IL-6 increased statistically substantially in rats given just benzene (p0.05), whereas they decreased in animals given the highest extract, 800 mg/kg BW. The levels of IL-4 and IL-6 were not statistically significantly different from those in the normal group (p>0.05). Thus, it can be inferred that the ethanolic extract of bay leaves has a neuroprotective effect due to the presence of flavonoids that contribute to the prevention of inflammation caused by benzene exposure.
Subject
General Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutics