Neuroprotective effects of Shunaoxin Dropping Pill on D-galactose induced Alzheimer's disease rat model and their mechanisms / 中草药

ABSTRACT

Objective: To investigate the neuroprotective effects of Shunaoxin Dropping Pill (SDP) on Alzheimer's disease (AD) rats induced by D-galactose their mechanisms. Methods: Rats were ip given D-gal (100 mg/kg) for 60 d to induce the prominent changes of AD in the early stage. Morris water maze was used to investigate neurobehavioral changes, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) kits were used to determine the indicators of oxidative stress, immunohistochemistry was used to evaluate the expression of GFAP and Caspase-3, and HE staining was used to observe the morphological changes in hippocampal region. Results: SDP treated group significantly decreased latency and increased the bouts of cross platform in Morris water maze experiment (P < 0.05), improved the morphological changes in hippocampal region and significantly increased the content of SOD content (P < 0.05), decreased the content of MDA (P < 0.05), and alleviated the neuron death. Conclusion: SDP has the certain therapeutic effect on prominent changes of AD in the early stage through its anti-oxidant stress effect. Our study provides the first piece of evidence supporting the potential use of SDP in the treatment of AD in clinic.