Influence of Basella alba methanolic extract on alcohol preference in Caenorhabditis elegans after acute and chronic alcohol withdrawal

Alcohol disinhibition leads to various social and health problems, especially when abused. One way to reduce alcohol addiction is through withdrawal. Several studies suggest that the active compounds in Basella alba (B. alba) modulate different hormones and neurotransmitters. In this study, the researchers examined whether B. alba methanolic extract (BAME) can revert the alcohol preference of Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) after acute and chronic alcohol withdrawal. Initially, they exposed the BAME-treated C. elegans to ethanol enough to exhibit alcohol preference. They transferred the nematodes to a different plate without ethanol for 30, 60, and 120 minutes, short-term. For long-term alcohol withdrawal, the researchers fed the nematodes with ethanol for 24 hours. They maintained these worms without ethanol for 7 days. They measured the preference index after 1 and 7 days. The researchers found out that BAME-fed C. elegans with 1-hour withdrawal demonstrated avoidance of ethanol. However, the 7-day alcohol withdrawn nematodes fed with BAME displayed ethanol preference. In summary, the findings suggest that BAME treatment may provoke alcohol avoidance after acute alcohol withdrawal, but may induce alcohol preference after chronic withdrawal. Further studies are needed to explore the findings of this study.