Optimal doses and neuroprotective effects of prolonged treatment with young coconut juice in orchidectomized rats. A preliminary study

Abstract

Our previous studies showed that feeding of young coconut juice (YCJ) had beneficial effects in both male and female rats such as preventing osteoporosis, accelerating wound healing and delaying Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathologies. Nevertheless, this large dose of YCJ feeding for five weeks in female rats started to have unfavorable side effects e.g. the deposition of glycogen in the liver. Thus, our aim in the present study was to investigate the lowest neuroprotective dose of YCJ that would cause the least side effects for long-term consumption in male rats. Three low doses of YCJ (10, 20 and 40 mL/kg body weight (BW)were applied. The results showed that YCJ preserved the number of neuronal cells but to different degrees in each area of the brain. After 10 weeks of treatment, the BW and organ weights (liver, kidney and adrenal gland) of the three YCJ treated groups were not significantly different from the control group. Moreover, the circulating levels of blood sugar, cholesterol, triglyceride, HDL, BUN, creatinine, total protein, albumin, AST, ALT, alkaline phosphatase, sodium, calcium, phosphorus and magnesium of the three YCJ treatments were not significantly different from the sham group. These results indicated that YCJ consumption might have potential to be a supplement for preserving neuronal cell density and was safe in terms of lipid, liver and renal profiles.

Keywords

• young coconut juice
• Cocos nuciferaL.
• Arecaceae
• cresyl violet staining
• orchidectomy
• serum chemical analysis