The Effect of Hydro-alcoholic Extract of Lavandula Angustifolia on Purkinje Neurons Following Enforced Swimming Stress in Male Rats

There was no report about the effect of Lavandula angustifolia (lavender) on Purkinje neurons in cerebellum. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of lavender extract on structure of Purkinje neurons during forced swimming stress.

Fifty rats were randomly divided into five groups of ten. Four groups were enforced under swimming stress; the first group received gavage normal saline, the second, third, and fourth group received 200, 400, and 600 mg/kg of gavage lavender extract, respectively. The fifth group considered as intact control. The treatment period was 14 days. Rats were deeply anesthetized and sacrificed, and the cerebella dissected and fixed in formalin. Histological passage was performed for each section, and stained thereafter. The number of normal Purkinje neurons were then counted. The morphological changes in the Purkinje neurons were histologically and immunohistochemically determined. Data were statistically analyzed using Duncan and Scheffe tests.

There were significant increase in mean number of normal Purkinje neurons in rats received 400 mg/kg lavender extract compared to other groups (P < 0.001). Compared to other groups, the morphological changes such as density of the nucleus in Purkinje neurons, raised cytoplasm acidophilic, and caspase-3-positive neuronal Purkinje increased in the group with swimming stress and normal saline.

The results showed that lavender extract at 400 mg/kg dose may protect Purkinje neurons in male rats under forced swimming stress.