EVOLVULUS ALSINOIDES (EAE) PLANT EXTRACT AS A MODULATOR OF CHOLINERGIC SYSTEM WITH REFERENCE TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE

Alzheimer’s disease is a form of dementia, in which nerve cells in memory areas of brain and eventually other areas begin to die at accelerated rate resulting in serious deterioration in several mental functions such as memory loss, language, orientation and judgment. The main objective of the present study was to investigate and compare the neuro-pharmacological effects of Evolvulus alsinoides plant extract on the cholinergic system and Histopathological aspects in AD-induced rat model. Ethanolic extract of Evolvulus alsinoides Linn (EAE) was prepared and administered to rats orally at a dose of 200 mg/kg body weight. To evaluate the anti-cholinergic potential of the plant extract, selected regions of the brain viz. Cerebral Cortex, Hippocampus, Pons medulla and cerebellum were used. As a corollary to these, Histopathological experiments only on two selected regions of the brain viz. cerebral cortex and hippocampus were conducted in all groups of rats on 60^th day of experimentation in order to assess the extent of cytoarchitectural changes in neurons brought out by AD induction and the reversal efficiency of EAE. A common observation was made i.e., Evolvulus alsinoides (EAE) extract exhibited a positive stimulatory effect on the cholinergic system in all groups of rats in general and AD-induced rats in particular. This was further reiterated by Histopathological experiments changes in the neurons of cerebral cortex and hippocampus of AD-induced rat brains have been restored back to the near normal condition after administration of EAE to AD-induced rats. In view of this, it was concluded that EAE has neuroprotective effect on cholinergic system which would pave new vistas in the discovery of safe and novel anti-Alzheimer’s compounds.