Research: XUE and COLLEAGUES,

Listed in Issue 273

Abstract

XUE and COLLEAGUES, 1. School of Food Science and Engineering, Hefei University of Technology, Hefei, Anhui 230009, China; 2. Hefei No. 8 High School, Hefei 230038, China studied the effects and mechanism of kiwifruit to alleviate learning and memory deficits induced by Lead (Pb) exposure.

Background

Lead (Pb) exposure, in particular during early postnatal life, increases susceptibility to cognitive dysfunction and neurodegenerative outcomes.

Methodology

The detrimental effect of Pb exposure is basically due to an increasing ROS production which overcomes the antioxidant systems and finally leads to cognitive dysfunction. Kiwifruit is rich in the antioxidants like vitamin C and polyphenols. This study aims to investigate the effects and mechanism of kiwifruit to alleviate learning and memory deficits induced by Pb exposure. Sprague-Dawley (SD) rat pups acquired Pb indirectly through their mothers during lactation period and after postnatal day 21 (PND21) directly acquired Pb by themselves. Five kinds of kiwifruits were collected in this study and the amounts of vitamin C and polyphenols in them were measured and the anti-oxidation effects were determined.

Results

Among them, Qinmei kiwifruit (Qm) showed the strongest anti-oxidation effects in vitro. In vivo, Qm significantly repaired Pb-induced learning and memory deficits and dendritic spine loss. In addition, Pb compromised the enzymatic activity and transcriptional levels of SOD and GSH-Px and decreased the microglial activation, which, to some extent, could be reversed by Qm kiwifruit administration.

Conclusion

The results suggest that kiwifruit could alleviate Pb-induced cognitive deficits possibly through antioxidative stress and microglia inactivation. Consequently, kiwifruit could be potentially regarded as the functional food favourable in the prevention and treatment of Pb intoxication.

References

Xue WZ1, Yang QQ1, Chen Y2, Zou RX1, Xing D1, Xu Y1, Liu YS1, Wang HL1. Kiwifruit Alleviates Learning and Memory Deficits Induced by Pb through Antioxidation and Inhibition of Microglia Activation In Vitro and In Vivo. Oxid Med Cell Longev.2017:5645324. doi: 10.1155/2017/5645324. Epub Mar 12 2017. 2017.

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