RESUMO
Background: Increasing evidence has shown that diabetes induces cognitive dysfunction and impairs learning and memory. Berberine, which is an isoquinoline alkaloid with multiple pharmacological effects including anti-diabetic and antioxidant activity, could improve learning and spatial memory impairment in STZ-induced diabetes in rats
Material and methods: Male Wistar rats [n = 40] were randomly allocated and similarly grouped into control, berberine-treated non-diabetic [100 mg/kg], diabetic, and berberine-treated diabetic [50, 100 mg/kg] groups. Diabetes was induced by STZ administration at the dose of 55 mg/kg through i.p. route. Berberine hydrochloride was administered p.o. at doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg/day 1 week after STZ injection for a period of 6 weeks. Blood samples were taken from the tail vein 1, 3, 5, and 7 weeks after STZ injection to measure blood glucose levels. Behavioral tests, including spatial recognition and objective recognition, were performed at the end of the study as described below
Results: Berberine-treated diabetic groups [50, 100 mg/kg/day] showed dose-dependent significant differences with diabetic group in spatial recognition and objective recognition tests, including the number of entries into the new arms and also the number of rearings into the new arms of Y maze. Moreover, compared with the diabetic group, objective recognition test score increased in berberine-treated diabetic group [50, 100 mg/kg], but not significantly
Conclusion: Berberine hydrochloride administration for 6 weeks improves cognitive dysfunction in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats