Effects of co-treatment of Rauwolfia vomitoria and Gongronema latifolium on neurobehaviour and the neurohistology of the cerebral cortex in mice

Rauwolfia vomitoria and Gongronema latifolium are medicinal plants with antioxidant, antidiabetic and analgesic properties among others. R. vomitoria is reported to possess adverse neural effects, which G. latifolium has shown the potential to address. This study therefore investigated the effects of co-treatment of R. vomitoria and G. latifolium on the neurobehaviour and histology of the cerebral cortex of female mice. Twenty female Wistar mice were divided into 4 groups (A, B, C and D). Group A designated as the control received 0.4 mL of 20% Tween, while groups B, C and D received oral doses of 150 mg/kg of R. vomitoria (RV), 200 mg/kg of G. latifolium (GL) and a combination of 150 mg/kg of R. vomitoria and 200 mg/kg of G. latifolium (RV+GL), respectively for seven days. Light and dark field behaviour test was carried out on day 8 and the animals were immediately sacrificed. Their brains were excised and routinely processed by haematoxylin and eosin method. There was no difference in body and brain weights, and the behavioural parameters. Cellular cyto-architecture showed higher glial population with no apparent histopathology. The cellular population was higher (p < 0.0001) in the RV and RV+GL groups, while the GL group was less (p < 0.0001) populated all compared to the control. In conclusion, the reported treatment regimes, RV administered singly and in combination with GL may not affect some neurobehavioural activities, but may result in cellular increase in the cerebral cortex. KEY WORDS: Rauwolfia vomitoria; Gongronema latifolium; Cerebral cortex; Mice