Date seed extract ameliorates β-amyloid-induced impairments in hippocampus of male rats

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most prevalent neurodegenerative disorder among the elderly. Because the existing treatments for Alzheimer's disease only offer limited symptomatic alleviation, more efficient therapeutic agents are urgently needed. Date seed is a hepatoprotective and neuroprotective agent. Date seed extract (DSE) has bioactive components like phenolics, flavonoids, and vitamins. In view of the ameliorative effects of DSE against an oxidative injury, the current study was designed to reveal whether DSE has a neuroprotective resource in the rat model of Alzheimer's disease. In the current study, 24 adult male Sprague-Dawely rats were divided into three groups (n = 8) of: Sham (Distilled Water, 3 μl intracerebroventricular (ICV) injection), β-Amyloid (β-amyloid, 3 μl ICV injection), and DSE-treated groups (80 mg/kg, Intraperitoneal (IP) injection), for 12 days. Twelve days after Alzheimer induction, behavioral analysis, the Morris Water Maze (MWM), as well as western blot and histological studies were performed to reveal the neuroprotective potential of DSE in rats. Administration of DSE significantly restored memory and learning impairments induced by Aβ in the MWM test. DSE significantly decreased the caspase-3 expression level in the treated group. In addition, DSE reduced the number of degenerated neurons in the hippocampal CA1 subfield of the DSE treated rats. These results demonstrate that DSE may have beneficial effects in the prevention of Aβ-induced Alzheimer in a rat model. Date seed extract may have advantageous effects in preventing Alzheimer's disease in male rats. © 2017 Elsevier Masson SA

Pretreatment with naringenin ameliorates bile duct ligation induced injuries in male rats

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is known to be a complex neurological syndrome. Former studies have shown that Naringenin (NG) can be beneficial for neurological impairments. Examples of these impairments are memory loss and motor dysfunction. In the present study, we have investigated the effects of NG on neuronal injures in bile duct-ligated rats. The male rats were divided into three groups including sham, bile duct ligation (BDL), and BDL + NG in a random manner. Behavioral, biochemical and histological studies were carried out for the purpose of evaluating neural damages. The results indicate that, BDL led to balance impairment and rise in the hepatic enzymes. NG had a preserving role in the treated group. Furthermore, NG pretreatment showed a decline in the neuronal injury in BDL + NG compared to the BDL group. The results showed that NG can have beneficial effects in the rat model of HE. This might be due to the anti-oxidant, estrogenic and anti-inflammatory properties of NG. Further studies are required in order to elucidate the precise mechanism. © 2019 by the authors

Walnut Kernel administration to mothers during pregnancy and lactation improve learning of their pups. Changes in number of neurons and gene expression of NMDA receptor and BDNF in hippocampus in 80 days rat pups

Walnut (Juglans regia) from the Juglandaceae family contains high levels of omega 3 fatty acid, vitamin E and melatonin, hence its consumption is beneficial to would be mothers and their offspring. The current study was designed to determine the possible mechanism of walnut consumption by mothers during pregnancy and lactation and the positive effects on learning and memory processes in their offspring. Wistar adult female rats were placed into three groups: control (fed with pellet, 20 g daily during pregnancy and lactation), CASE 1 fed with Walnut Kernel (WK) 6% of food intake during pregnancy and lactation and CASE 2 (fed with WK, 9% of food intake during gestation and lactation). In order to evaluate offspring learning and memory, the Morris Water Maze (MWM) test was performed for their adult offspring at 80 days of age. Histological and molecular studies were utilized in order to discover the protective mechanism and efficacy of WK consumption. The results revealed that learning was significantly improved in the females of CASE 2, in comparison to controls, while there was no difference in memory among the different groups. In addition, the number of neurons significantly increased in the CASE 2 group compared to the control group. However, the molecular study demonstrated that there was no significant difference among the study groups. The results herein show that feeding mothers with WK may improve the learning competence of their pups and increase the number of neurons in both sexes. © 2020 Zahra Mahmoodian et al., published by Sciendo 2020

Investigating the neuroprotective effects of resveratrol on encephalopathy induced by bile duct ligation in male rats

Hepatic encephalopathy (HE) is a complex neuropsychiatric disorder without definitive treatment. The precise mechanism that leads to HE is not fully understood. Resveratrol (RES) is a polyphenol compound with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties that mitigates the progression of different illnesses such as inflammatory and ischemic diseases. This study reports the effects of RES on neuronal injures in bile duct-ligated rats. The rats were randomly distributed into three groups including sham, bile duct ligation (BDL), and BDL + RES. Behavioral and biochemical studies were performed to evaluate neuronal injuries. The obtained data indicate that BDL experienced a balanced impairment and an increase in the hepatic enzymes. RES had a preserving role in the treated animals. Moreover, RES treatment declined neuronal injuries induced by BDL. For the first time, the results of this study showed that RES has beneficial effects in the rat model of HE probably because of its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. © 2020 by the authors. T