Figure 1: BDNF Level Expression in Negative
Control, Vitamin E (Positive Control), Acalypha
indica L., and Young Group.
As seen in Figure 1, there were differences in the
numbers of BDNF levels in each group. By
calculating the mean of BDNF levels in each group,
it has been found that treatment group Acalypha
indica L. root extract 250 mg/kg BW had the highest
BDNF content which reached 51.57 ± 9.713 pg/mg
protein, while the lowest was shown by positive
control group vitamin E 6 IU which was 43.09 ±
11.99 pg/mg protein. BDNF contained in the
negative control group was 44.09 ± 3.854 pg/mg
protein. This value was slightly higher than the
value of BDNF level in the young group, which was
43.18 ± 20.28 pg/mg protein. Despite the
differences, these data were statistically insignificant
with p-value 0.6545.
3.2 Discussion
This study showed that the root extract of Acalypha
indica L. could provide anti-oxidative potential
when given to aged subjects. This role was
facilitated through the increment of BDNF level of
brain tissues.
The high concentration of BDNF in the group
receiving Acalypha indica L. is synergic with many
preceding studies that have proven its positive
correlation. For example, when compared to
standard antioxidant L-ascorbic acid, Acalypha
indica L. provided moderate antioxidant activity
with different expressions depending on the material
used: root 53.27% and leaves 31.14%. This study
clearly indicated that the antioxidant expression of
Acalypha indica L. was higher in root extract
(Shanmugapriya, Ramanathan et al., 2011).
Bioactive constituents contained in the extracts, such
as phenolic and flavonoid components were known
to give radical scavenging activities by neutralizing
reactive oxygen species (ROS) which later prevent
neuronal damage and improve viability and
proliferation of neuronal cells (Vauzour, Vafeiadou
et al., 2008).
BDNF concentration was observed as the lowest in
the group with vitamin E supplementation, which
corresponded with a previous study on rats done by
Sakr, Abbas et al. (2015). BDNF gene expression
was known to be decreased in rats with sustained
hypoxia and chronic exercise when exposed to
vitamin E supplementation. Vitamin E given in this
research is 100 mg/kg BW of the doses and injected
intraperitoneally. This suggested that BDNF
expression of the cortical neuron was related to
oxidative stress induced by hypoxia and exercise.
However, this research was limited in young rats
aged 4 weeks.
According to one research which studied the
correlation between age and plasma BDNF level,
there were significant differences in BDNF levels
between younger and older subjects after undergo
horizontal bed rest for 14 days. In younger subjects,
BDNF levels were smaller (34.36 ± 15.24 pg/mL)
than older subjects (62.02 ± 18.31 pg/mL). These
results were affected by the resistance of the brain to
counteract acute stressors, which was declined as the
age increased. It contributed to a bigger increment in
BDNF level as a compensatory mechanism (Soavi,
Marušic et al., 2016). Therefore, this strongly
correlates with such differences of BDNF level
shown in both old and young groups observed in this
study.
As stated in a study on sixty frogs (Bufo
melanostictus Schneider) aimed to identify the
therapeutic effect provided by Acalypha indica L.,
there was a significant difference (p<0.05) of
neuroprotective effect among treated frogs when
compared to control group. In the experiment, the
extracts were made into four groups with various
amount of doses. It concluded that the
neuroprotective effect was observed highest at 200-
500 mg/kg BW of dose (Purwaningsih et al., 2010).
This range of dose was also synergic with a study
detecting another pharmacological activity of
Acalypha indica L. This study demonstrated that its
anti-inflammatory effect was observed best at dose
250 mg/kg BW which seen by maximum inhibition
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