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Protective effect of Carthamus tinctorius L. seed on oxidative stress and cognitive impairment induced by chronic alcohol consumption in mice

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Abstract

Chronic alcohol consumption induces damage to the brain that can cause various forms of dementia. An abundance of acetaldehyde is produced by excessive alcohol consumption and accumulates in the body to induce oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation in neuronal cells, which results in learning and cognitive decline. In the present study, C57BL/N mice were orally administered alcohol (16%) and Carthamus tinctorius L. seed (CTS) (100 and 200 mg/kg/day). Behavioral experiments showed that memory and cognitive abilities were significantly higher in the CTS groups than the alcohol-treated control group in the T-maze test, novel object recognition test, and Morris water maze test. In addition, CTS inhibited alcohol-induced lipid peroxidation and nitric oxide production in the brain, kidney, and liver. Moreover, alcohol increased acetylcholinesterase activity in the brain, but this was significantly decreased by the administration of CTS. Therefore, CTS may play role in the prevention of alcohol-related dementia.

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Acknowledgements

This work was carried out with the support of “Cooperative Research Program for Agriculture Science and Technology Development (Project No. PJ01312301)” Rural Development Administration, Republic of Korea.

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  1. Department of Food Science and Nutrition, and Kimchi Research Institute, Pusan National University, Busan, 46241, Republic of Korea

    Seung Hak Choi, Ah Young Lee & Eun Ju Cho

  2. Department of Medicinal Crop Research, National Institute of Horticultural and Herbal Science, Rural Development Administration, Eumseong, 27709, Republic of Korea

    Chan Hum Park & Yu Su Shin

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Choi, S.H., Lee, A.Y., Park, C.H. et al. Protective effect of Carthamus tinctorius L. seed on oxidative stress and cognitive impairment induced by chronic alcohol consumption in mice. Food Sci Biotechnol 27, 1475–1484 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10068-018-0472-4

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