Effects of caffeic acid on brain damage induced by chronic aluminum overload in rats / 中国药理学通报

ABSTRACT

Aim To study the protective effect of caffeic acid on brain damage induced by chronic aluminum overload in rats.Methods The brain injury model of rats was established via intragastric administration of aluminum gluconate(element aluminum 200 mg?kg-1) once a day,5 d a week for 20 weeks.The 5-LO inhibitor caffeic acid(30 mg?kg-1,10 mg?kg-1) was intragastrically administered 1 h after aluminum administration.Pathomorphological changes of hippocampal neuron and the spatial learning and memory function were observed.The MAO-B,AChE and SOD activities,and the MDA contents of brain tissue in rats were measured.Results Chronic aluminum overload could markedly induce spatial learning and memory function impairment,and hippocampal neuronal injury in rats.The MAO-B and AChE activities,and the MDA content significantly increased,while SOD activities significantly decreased in chronic aluminum overload rats.The administration of the caffeic acid can significantly prevent rats from learning and memory function impairments and hippocampal neuronal death,and blunted the decrease of SOD activities and increased MDA contents induced by chronic aluminum overload in rats.Caffeic acid also obviously decreased the MAO-B activities and AChE activities of chronic aluminum overload rats.Conclusion Administration of caffeic acid can prevent the rat brain from damage induced by chronic aluminum overload.