Department of Pharmacology, Therapeutics and Toxicology, Faculty of Basic Clinical Sciences, College of Medicine, Lagos State University, Ikeja, Lagos State, Nigeria.
Behavioural Neuroscience/Neurobiology Unit, Department of Anatomy, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State, Nigeria.
Curr Aging Sci. 2021;14(2):154-162. doi: 10.2174/1874609813666201228112349.
Organismal aging has been associated with deleterious effects in different body tissues and organs, including the brain. There have been reports from ancient medicinal scripts of the beneficial effects of nuts like hazelnut in preventing aging induced-brain atrophy and memory loss.
This study examined the potential beneficial effects of a diet supplemented with two different (Italian and Turkish) cultivars of hazelnut on the brain of aged mice.
Aged (24 months old) mice were randomly assigned into 7 groups of ten mice each. Mice were grouped as standard diet (SD) control, three groups of Turkish and three groups of Italian hazelnut incorporated into SD at 2, 4 and 8% respectively. Animals were fed standard or hazelnut diet for 8 weeks. On day 56, behaviours in the elevated plus maze, radial-arm maze, open field, and Y-maze paradigms were monitored and scored, following which animals were euthanized. The brains were removed, weighed and homogenized for the assessment of specific biochemical tests.
Results showed that hazelnut-supplemented diet was associated with significantly increased weight gain, with the Italian hazelnut being associated with greater weight gain. The hazelnut- supplemented diet also increased behavioural parameters such as horizontal locomotion and grooming, while it decreased rearing activity. Working-memory also improved significantly with both cultivars of hazelnut, while anxiety indices were reduced at lower concentrations of Italian, and higher concentrations of Turkish hazelnut. Both hazelnut varieties were associated with a reduction in acetylcholinesterase activity, superoxide dismutase activity, nitric oxide levels, caspase- 3 level, but increased dopamine level.
Overall, hazelnut cultivars have beneficial effects on the brain in aged mice; suggesting a possible role in the prevention or management of age-related neurodegenerative changes.
生物体的衰老与不同身体组织和器官（包括大脑）的有害影响有关。古代医学文献中有关于坚果（如榛子）预防衰老引起的脑萎缩和记忆力丧失的有益作用的报道。
本研究探讨了富含两种不同（意大利和土耳其）榛子品种的饮食对老年小鼠大脑的潜在有益作用。
将 24 个月大的老年小鼠随机分为 7 组，每组 10 只。将小鼠分为标准饮食（SD）对照组、3 组土耳其榛子组和 3 组意大利榛子组，分别以 2%、4%和 8%的比例掺入 SD。动物喂食标准或榛子饮食 8 周。在第 56 天，监测和评分高架十字迷宫、放射臂迷宫、旷场和 Y 迷宫范式中的行为，之后处死动物。取出大脑，称重并匀浆，用于评估特定的生化测试。
结果表明，榛子补充饮食与体重显著增加有关，意大利榛子与更大的体重增加有关。榛子补充饮食还增加了水平运动和梳理等行为参数，同时减少了站立活动。两种榛子品种都显著改善了工作记忆，而意大利榛子的较低浓度和土耳其榛子的较高浓度降低了焦虑指数。两种榛子品种均与乙酰胆碱酯酶活性、超氧化物歧化酶活性、一氧化氮水平、半胱天冬酶-3 水平降低和多巴胺水平升高有关。
总的来说，榛子品种对老年小鼠的大脑有有益的影响；提示其在预防或管理与年龄相关的神经退行性变化方面可能具有作用。
