Bhandari Anmol, Sunkaria Aditya, Kaur Gurcharan
Department of Biotechnology, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, India.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2022 Jul 28;14:944144. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.944144. eCollection 2022.
The midlife transition period in women marks the progressive flattening of neurological health along with increased adiposity, dyslipidemia, frailty, and inflammatory responses mainly attributed to the gradual decline in estrogen levels. Conflicting reports of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) necessitate the exploration of novel therapeutic interventions using bioactive natural products having the least toxicity and a holistic mode of action for the preservation of metabolic homeodynamics with aging in women. The present study was planned to investigate the effects of aging and/or a high-fat diet (HFD) on cognitive impairments and anxiety and further their management by dietary supplement with the stem powder (TCP). Acyclic female rats were included in this study as the model system of the perimenopause phase of women along with young 3-4 months old rats as controls. Rats were fed on with and without TCP supplemented normal chow or HFD for 12 weeks. Animals fed on a TCP supplemented normal chow showed consistent management of body weight over a 12-week regimen although their calorie intake was much higher in comparison to their age-matched controls. Post-regimen, neurobehavioral tests, such as novel object recognition and elevated plus maze, performed on these animals showed improvement in their learning and memory abilities as well as the anxiety-like behavior. Furthermore, due to the presence of multiple components, TCP was observed to modulate the expression of key marker proteins to ameliorate neuroinflammation and apoptosis and promote cell survival and synaptic plasticity in the hippocampus and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) regions of the brain. These findings suggest that TCP supplementation in diet during the midlife transition period in women may be a potential interventional strategy for the management of menopause-associated anxiety and cognitive impairments and healthy aging.
女性中年过渡期标志着神经健康逐渐衰退，同时肥胖、血脂异常、身体虚弱和炎症反应增加，这些主要归因于雌激素水平的逐渐下降。激素替代疗法（HRT）的报道相互矛盾，因此有必要探索使用生物活性天然产物的新型治疗干预措施，这些产物毒性最小且具有整体作用模式，以维持女性随着年龄增长的代谢动态平衡。本研究旨在调查衰老和/或高脂饮食（HFD）对认知障碍和焦虑的影响，以及通过补充姜黄茎粉（TCP）进行饮食管理的效果。将处于围绝经期的无环雌性大鼠作为女性围绝经期阶段的模型系统，同时将3 - 4个月大的年轻大鼠作为对照。大鼠分别喂食添加和不添加TCP的正常饲料或高脂饲料，持续12周。喂食添加TCP的正常饲料的动物在12周的实验过程中体重得到持续控制，尽管与年龄匹配的对照组相比，它们的卡路里摄入量要高得多。实验结束后，对这些动物进行的新物体识别和高架十字迷宫等神经行为测试表明，它们的学习和记忆能力以及焦虑样行为都有所改善。此外，由于TCP含有多种成分，观察发现它可以调节关键标记蛋白的表达，以减轻神经炎症和细胞凋亡，促进大脑海马体和前额叶皮质（PFC）区域的细胞存活和突触可塑性。这些发现表明，在女性中年过渡期的饮食中补充TCP可能是管理与更年期相关的焦虑和认知障碍以及健康衰老的一种潜在干预策略。
