Methanolic extract of Piper nigrum fruits improves memory impairment by decreasing brain oxidative stress in amyloid beta(1-42) rat model of Alzheimer's disease

Cell Mol Neurobiol. 2014 Apr;34(3):437-49. doi: 10.1007/s10571-014-0028-y. Epub 2014 Jan 19.

Abstract

The present study analyzed the possible memory-enhancing and antioxidant proprieties of the methanolic extract of Piper nigrum L. fruits (50 and 100 mg/kg, orally, for 21 days) in amyloid beta(1-42) rat model of Alzheimer's disease. The memory-enhancing effects of the plant extract were studied by means of in vivo (Y-maze and radial arm-maze tasks) approaches. Also, the antioxidant activity in the hippocampus was assessed using superoxide dismutase-, catalase-, glutathione peroxidase-specific activities and the total content of reduced glutathione, malondialdehyde, and protein carbonyl levels. The amyloid beta(1-42)-treated rats exhibited the following: decrease of spontaneous alternations percentage within Y-maze task and increase of working memory and reference memory errors within radial arm-maze task. Administration of the plant extract significantly improved memory performance and exhibited antioxidant potential. Our results suggest that the plant extract ameliorates amyloid beta(1-42)-induced spatial memory impairment by attenuation of the oxidative stress in the rat hippocampus.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Alzheimer Disease / chemically induced
  • Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy
  • Alzheimer Disease / metabolism*
  • Amyloid beta-Peptides / toxicity*
  • Animals
  • Brain / drug effects
  • Brain / metabolism
  • Disease Models, Animal
  • Fruit
  • Male
  • Maze Learning / drug effects
  • Maze Learning / physiology
  • Memory Disorders / chemically induced
  • Memory Disorders / drug therapy
  • Memory Disorders / metabolism*
  • Methanol / pharmacology
  • Methanol / therapeutic use
  • Oxidative Stress / drug effects
  • Oxidative Stress / physiology*
  • Peptide Fragments / toxicity*
  • Piper nigrum*
  • Plant Extracts / isolation & purification
  • Plant Extracts / pharmacology
  • Plant Extracts / therapeutic use*
  • Rats
  • Rats, Wistar

Substances

  • Amyloid beta-Peptides
  • Peptide Fragments
  • Plant Extracts
  • amyloid beta-protein (1-42)
  • Methanol