P1‐149: The protective effect of dietary eicosapentaenoic acid on the impairment of spatial cognition learning ability in Amyloid β peptide 1–40‐infused rats
Year: 2008
Type: article
Abstract: Deposition of amyloid β (Aβ) peptide into the brain causes cognitive impairment. We investigated whether dietary pre-administration of eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA; 20:5(n-3)] is conducive to cognition learning ability and whether it protects against the impairment of learning ability in an animal model of Alzheimer's disease (AD) _ rats infused with Aβ peptide (1–40) into the cerebral ventricle. Inbred 2 generation male Wistar rats (5 wks old) fed a fish oil-deficient diet were randomly divided into two groups. One group received eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) ethyl ester dissolved in 5% gum Arabic solution, at 300 mg/kg/day administered orally; the other group received a similar volume of the vehicle alone. Five weeks after starting the administration, the rats were tested for learning ability-related reference and working memory in an 8-arm radial maze. Dietary EPA administered to rats for 12 weeks before the infusion of Aβ into the rat brain significantly decreased the number of reference and working memory errors, suggesting that chronic administration of EPA improves cognition leaning ability in rats. EPA preadministered to the Aβ-infused rats significantly reduced the increase in the number of reference and working memory errors, with concurrent proportional increases in the levels of cortico-hippocampal EPA and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and in the molar ratio of DHA to arachidonic acid. A decrease in the oxidative stress of these tissues was evaluated by determining the reactive oxygen species and lipid peroxide levels. cDNA microarray analysis revealed that the altered genes included those that control synaptic signal transduction, cell communication, membrane-related vesicular transport functions, enzymes and several other proteins unrelated to n-3 fatty acid functions. The present studies suggest that EPA, by acting as a precursor for DHA, provides ameliorating effects on learning deficits associated with Alzheimer's disease, and that these effects are modulated by the expression of proteins involved in neuronal plasticity.
Source: Alzheimer s & Dementia
Language: English
Subfield: Nutrition and Dietetics
Field: Nursing
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2008444040