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Research: WU and COLLEAGUES,
Listed in Issue 233
Abstract
WU and COLLEAGUES, (1)College of Food Science and Engineering, Northwest A&F University, 28. Xi-nong Road, Yangling 712100, China. xueboliu@yahoo.com.cn investigated whether administration of Astaxanthin (AST) had protective effects on D-galactose-induced brain ageing in rats.
Background
Astaxanthin (AST) is a carotenoid pigment which possesses potent antioxidative, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties.
Methodology
The aim of this study was to investigate whether administration of AST had protective effects on D-galactose-induced brain ageing in rats, and to further examine its protective mechanisms.
Results
The results showed that AST treatment significantly restored the activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX) and superoxide dismutase (SOD), and increased glutathione (GSH) contents and total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), but decreased malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonylation and 8-hydroxy-2- deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) levels in the brains of ageing rats. Furthermore, AST increased the ratio of Bcl-2/Bax, but decreased the expression of Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) in the brains of ageing rats. Additionally, AST ameliorated histopathological changes in the hippocampus and restored brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in both the brains and hippocampus of aging rats
Conclusion
These results suggested that AST could alleviate brain ageing, which may be due to attenuating oxidative stress, ameliorating hippocampus damage, and upregulating BDNF expression.
References
Wu W(1), Wang X, Xiang Q, Meng X, Peng Y, Du N, Liu Z, Sun Q, Wang C, Liu X. Astaxanthin alleviates brain aging in rats by attenuating oxidative stress and increasing BDNF levels. Food Funct. 5(1):158-66. doi: 10.1039/c3fo60400d. Jan 2014.
