Proteomics Research Center, Shaheed Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran.
Neurosci Bull. 2011 Apr;27(2):99-106. doi: 10.1007/s12264-011-1149-7.
Alzheimer's disease (AD) is one of the most important neurodegenerative disorders. It is characterized by dementia including deficits in learning and memory. The present study aimed to evaluate the effects of aqueous extract of lavender (Lavandula angustifolia) on spatial performance of AD rats.
Male Wistar rats were first divided into control and AD groups. Rat model of AD was established by intracerebroventricular injection of 10 μg Aβ1-42 20 d prior to administration of the lavender extract. Rats in both groups were then introduced to 2 stages of task learning (with an interval of 20 d) in Morris water maze, each followed by one probe test. After the first stage of spatial learning, control and AD animals received different doses (50, 100 and 200 mg/kg) of the lavender extract.
In the first stage of experiment, the latency to locate the hidden platform in AD group was significantly higher than that in control group. However, in the second stage of experiment, control and AD rats that received distilled water (vehicle) showed similar performance, indicating that the maze navigation itself could improve the spatial learning of AD animals. Besides, in the second stage of experiment, control and AD rats that received lavender extract administration at different doses (50, 100, and 200 mg/ kg) spent less time locating the platform (except for the AD rats with 50 mg/kg extract treatment), as compared with their counterparts with vehicle treatment, respectively. In addition, lavender extract significantly improved the performance of control and AD rats in the probe test, only at the dose of 200 mg/kg, as compared with their counterparts with vehicle treatment.
The lavender extract can effectively reverse spatial learning deficits in AD rats.
阿尔茨海默病（AD）是最重要的神经退行性疾病之一。其特征为痴呆，包括学习和记忆方面的缺陷。本研究旨在评估薰衣草（Lavandula angustifolia）水提物对 AD 大鼠空间性能的影响。
雄性 Wistar 大鼠首先分为对照组和 AD 组。AD 大鼠模型通过侧脑室注射 10μg Aβ1-42 建立，在给予薰衣草提取物之前 20 天。然后，两组大鼠均在 Morris 水迷宫中进行 2 个阶段的任务学习（间隔 20 天），每个阶段后进行一次探测测试。在第一阶段的空间学习后，对照组和 AD 动物分别接受不同剂量（50、100 和 200mg/kg）的薰衣草提取物。
在实验的第一阶段，AD 组找到隐藏平台的潜伏期明显高于对照组。然而，在实验的第二阶段，接受蒸馏水（载体）的对照组和 AD 大鼠表现出相似的性能，表明迷宫导航本身可以改善 AD 动物的空间学习。此外，在实验的第二阶段，接受不同剂量（50、100 和 200mg/kg）薰衣草提取物治疗的对照组和 AD 大鼠，与接受载体治疗的大鼠相比，找到平台的时间（AD 大鼠接受 50mg/kg 提取物治疗的除外）明显减少。此外，与接受载体治疗的大鼠相比，薰衣草提取物仅在 200mg/kg 剂量下显著改善了对照组和 AD 大鼠在探测测试中的表现。
薰衣草提取物能有效逆转 AD 大鼠的空间学习障碍。
