Zanjan Applied Pharmacology Research Center, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, School of Pharmacy, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran.
Acta Neurobiol Exp (Wars). 2022;82(3):380-388. doi: 10.55782/ane-2022-036.
Memory and cognitive impairment induced by oxidative stress are among the main hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease's (AD) pathology. The present study aimed to investigate the potential neuroprotective effects of Thymus daenensis (T. daenensis) extract against scopolamine‑induced memory impairment and oxidative stress in rats. T. daenensis, widely distributed in Iran and Europe, is known to be a rich source of natural antioxidants and has been traditionally used for various medical purposes. The present study investigated the post‑treatment effects of T. daenensis on learning and memory functions, antioxidant cellular defense, and oxidative stress using the scopolamine rat model of AD. The experiments were performed by intraperitoneal injection of scopolamine for 10 consecutive days in Wistar male rats (180-220 g). Additionally, the animals received T. daenensis extract (50‑200 mg/kg) by gavage for 14 consecutive days after induction of memory impairment. The animals were divided into 8 groups, namely: control, 200 mg/kg of T. daenensis extract (D200), donepezil (DON), scopolamine (ALZ), ALZ animals treated with different doses of the extract (ALZ+D50 or 100 or 200 mg/kg) and ALZ animals treated with (ALZ+DON). The animals were then subjected to the Morris water maze (MWM) paradigm as a standard criterion for memory function assessment, and after extracting the brain tissues, the related biochemical oxidative stress parameters were determined in the brain. Our results indicated that T. daenensis extract significantly improved animals' performance in the MWM while significantly reducing oxidative stress and antioxidant imbalance. Furthermore, the extract did not show hepatotoxic effects on treated animals. In addition, the extract treatment significantly decreased both cellular malondialdehyde (MDA) and protein carbonyl (PCO) content while conversely increasing the total reduced glutathione (GSH) content and also the levels of total and endogenous antioxidants in the ferric reducing antioxidant power (FRAP) assay. It seems that the administration of T. daenensis significantly improved both cellular biochemical aspects and memory performance in animal models. Conclusively, it could be beneficial for scopolamine‑induced neurotoxicity.
由氧化应激引起的记忆和认知障碍是阿尔茨海默病（AD）病理学的主要特征之一。本研究旨在探讨 Thymus daenensis（T. daenensis）提取物对东莨菪碱诱导的大鼠记忆障碍和氧化应激的潜在神经保护作用。T. daenensis 广泛分布于伊朗和欧洲，是天然抗氧化剂的丰富来源，传统上用于各种医疗用途。本研究采用 AD 东莨菪碱大鼠模型，研究了 T. daenensis 对学习和记忆功能、抗氧化细胞防御和氧化应激的治疗后作用。实验通过腹腔注射东莨菪碱连续 10 天在 Wistar 雄性大鼠（180-220 g）中进行。此外，在诱导记忆障碍后，动物通过灌胃连续 14 天给予 T. daenensis 提取物（50-200 mg/kg）。动物分为 8 组，分别为：对照组、200 mg/kg T. daenensis 提取物（D200）、多奈哌齐（DON）、东莨菪碱（ALZ）、ALZ 动物用不同剂量提取物治疗（ALZ+D50 或 100 或 200 mg/kg）和 ALZ 动物用（ALZ+DON）治疗。然后，动物进行 Morris 水迷宫（MWM）范式，作为记忆功能评估的标准标准，提取脑组织后，在脑组织中测定相关生化氧化应激参数。结果表明，T. daenensis 提取物显著改善了动物在 MWM 中的表现，同时显著降低了氧化应激和抗氧化失衡。此外，提取物对治疗动物没有肝毒性作用。此外，提取物处理显著降低了细胞丙二醛（MDA）和蛋白质羰基（PCO）的含量，而相反地增加了总还原型谷胱甘肽（GSH）的含量，并且在铁还原抗氧化能力（FRAP）测定中也增加了总抗氧化剂和内源性抗氧化剂的水平。似乎 T. daenensis 的给药显著改善了动物模型的细胞生化方面和记忆性能。总之，它可能对东莨菪碱诱导的神经毒性有益。
