Research Gist
Missing a night of sleep can affect mood, memory and concentration the next day. This study examined whether Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia), classified in Ayurveda as a Medhya Rasayana, could protect against these effects. Adult female Wistar rats were divided into three groups: normal sleep, sleep-deprived without treatment, and sleep-deprived after pre-treatment with a 50% ethanolic Giloy extract. The 12-hour sleep deprivation used is roughly equivalent to one night without sleep in humans. Rats pre-treated with Giloy showed less anxiety-like behaviour in the elevated plus maze and better cognitive performance in the novel object recognition test than untreated sleep-deprived rats. In the hippocampus and cortex, Giloy also modulated proteins linked to neural plasticity and memory maintenance, including NCAM, GAP-43 and CaMKII-α.
Key Learnings
- Giloy pre-treatment reduced anxiety-like behaviour after acute sleep deprivation.
- Cognitive performance in the novel object recognition test was better protected.
- Proteins linked to neural plasticity and memory maintenance were modulated in the hippocampus.
- The 12-hour sleep loss model is roughly equivalent to one missed night in humans.
- This was a rat study — the same effects have not been confirmed in people.