Ameliorating effect of <em>Gnetum gnemon</em> L. on hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis during acute and chronic stress in rats

Abstract

There is an imperative pre-requisite to look for newer and safer drugs derived from natural resources, which will help in fighting stress. <em>Gnetum gnemon</em> L. (<em>Bago</em>), a versatile medicinal plant with a wide range of ethnobotanical utilizations, has been broadly used therapeutically and is becoming increasingly popular as nutraceutic agent. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the antistress or adaptogenic activity of <em>Gnetum gnemon</em>. Male Wistar rats were grouped as acute stress (AS) group, chronic stress (CS) group, vehicle control group and standard drug (Zeetress) treated group. The rats exposed to acute stress (AS) for 3 days and chronic stress (CS) for 7 days were treated with ethanolic extract of <em>Gnetum gnemon </em> (100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) daily for (AS and CS), respectively. Water immersion stress was used in stress models. Ethanolic extract of <em>Gnetum gnemon </em> (100 and 200 mg/kg p.o.) reverted the elevated levels of ALT, AST, plasma glucose, cholesterol and creatine kinase and triglyceride level. In the extract treated groups, the size of the spleen was normalized than the stress control group. The size of the hypertrophied adrenal glands was reduced due to its putative adaptogenic property.