Cucurbita pepo is a common vegetable used all over the world. In
folk medicine it is used in
gastroenteritis, hepatorenal and in brain anomalies. In the present study, protective effect of Cucurbita pepo fruit peel against CCl4-induced neurotoxicity in rats was investigated. In this study, 36 Sprague-Dawley female rats (190±15 g) were randomly divided into 6 groups of 6 rats each. Group I was given 1 ml/kg bw (
body weight) of
corn oil intraperotoneally (i.p); Group II, III and IV were treated with 20% CCl4 in
corn oil (1ml/kg bw i.p.). However, animals of Group III and IV were also treated with CPME (
methanol extract of C. pepo fruit peel) at 200 and 400mg/kg bw respectively. Animals of Group V and VI were administered only with CPME at 200 and 400mg/kg bw respectively. These treatments were administered 3 days a week for two weeks. Administration of CCl4 cause acute neurotoxicity as depicted by significant depletion (p<0.05) in the activities of
antioxidant enzymes;
catalase,
superoxide dismutase,
peroxidase, glutathione reductase, glutathione-
S-transferase, glutathione peroxidase,
quinone reductase, while enhanced the γ-glutamyl
transferase level in brain samples. CCl4 intoxication decreased the
reduced glutathione (GSH) level whereas markedly (p<0.05) enhanced lipid peroxidation in brain samples. Co-treatment of CPME significantly (p<0.05) protected the brain tissues against CCl4 constituted
injuries by restoring activities of
antioxidant enzymes and ameliorated lipid peroxidation in a dose dependent fashion. These
neuroprotective effects might be due to the presence of
antioxidant constituents.