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Kola nut (from Cola nitida) is popular in Nigeria and West Africa and is commonly consumed by pregnant women during the first trimester to alleviate morning sickness and dizziness. There is, however, a dearth of information on its effects on the developing brain. This study, therefore, investigated the potential effects of kola nut on the structure of the developing neonatal and juvenile cerebellum in the rat. Pregnant Wistar rats were administered water (as control) or crude (aqueous) kola nut extract at 400, 600, and 800 mg/kg body weight orally, from pregnancy to day 21 after birth. On postnatal days 1, 7, 14, 21 and 28, the pups were weighed, anaesthetised, sacrificed and perfused with neutral buffered formalin. Their brains were dissected out, weighed and the cerebellum preserved in 10% buffered formalin. Paraffin sections of the cerebellum were stained with haematoxylin and eosin for cerebellar cytoarchitecture, cresyl violet stain for Purkinje cell count, Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) immunohistochemistry (IHC) for estimation of gliosis, and B-cell lymphoma 2 (Bcl-2) IHC for apoptosis induction. The kola nut-treated rats exhibited initial reduction in body and brain weights, persistent external granular layer, increased molecular layer thickness, and loss of Bergmann glia. Their Purkinje cells showed reduction in density, loss of dendrites and multiple layering, and their white matter showed neurodegeneration (spongiosis) and GFAP and Bcl-2 over-expression, with evidence of reactive astrogliosis. This study, therefore, demonstrates that kola nut, administered repeatedly at certain doses to pregnant dams, could disrupt normal postnatal cerebellar development in their pups. The findings suggest potential deleterious effects of excessive kola nut consumption on human brain and thus warrant further studies to understand the wider implications for human brain development., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

The striped owl (Asioclamator) is unique with its brownish white facial disc and they are found in the north eastern part of Nigeria. Little is known in the literature on the basic neuroanatomy of this species. This study focuses on the histology and glial expression of some brain regions of the striped owl. Five owls were obtained in the wild, and their brains were routinely prepared for Haematoxylin and Eosin, and Cresyl violet staining. Immunostaining was done with anti-Calbindin, anti MBP, anti-GFAP, and anti-Iba-1 antibodies; for the expression of cerebellar Purkinje cells and white matter, cerebral astrocytes and microglia cells respectively. These were qualitatively described. We found that the hippocampal formation of the striped owl, though unique, is very similar to what is seen in mammals. The cerebellar cortex is convoluted, has a single layer of Purkinje cells with profuse dendritic arborization, a distinct external granular cell layer, and a prominent stem of white matter were seen in this study. The astrocytic population in cerebral gray is similar, though lacking in many processes as is typical in protoplasmic astrocytes, while the microglia were not strongly stained. The few stained microglia cells did not, however, show any features of activation. The striped owl's brain reveals some conserved aspects of cellular neuroanatomy in both the avian and mammals that are typical in these species. More work is however needed particularly in age related differences in these structures. This is perhaps the first report of Calbindin immunostaining in the brain of the striped owl.