Abstract
The blackberry (Rubus sp.) is a popular fruit that has a high concentration of phenolic compounds. Pharmacological investigations have demonstrated the important biological activities of the blackberry extract, such as neuroprotective actions. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of blackberry extract on memory and neurochemical parameters in rats subjected to scopolamine (SCO)-induced amnesia. Male rats were divided into five groups: I, control (saline); II, SCO; III, SCO + Rubus sp. (100 mg/kg); IV, SCO + Rubus sp. (200 mg/kg); and V, SCO + donepezil (5 mg/kg). Blackberry extract and donepezil were orally administered for 10 days. On day 11, group I received saline, and groups II, III, IV, and V received SCO (1 mg/kg) intraperitoneally after object recognition behavioral training. Twenty-four hours after the training session, animals were subjected to an object recognition test. Finally, the animals were euthanized, and the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum were collected to evaluate the oxidative stress and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity. Rubus sp. extract prevented memory impairment induced by SCO in a manner similar to that of donepezil. Additionally, Rubus sp. extract and donepezil prevented the increase in AChE activity induced by SCO in all the evaluated brain structures. SCO induced oxidative damage in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, and cerebellum, which was prevented by Rubus sp. and donepezil. Our results suggest that the antioxidant and anticholinesterase activities of Rubus sp. are associated with memory improvement; hence, it can potentially be used for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases.
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The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author.
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Acknowledgements
The authors acknowledge the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), and Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) for financial support. We would like to thank Editage (www.editage.com) for English language editing.
Funding
This research was supported by the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS). This study was financed, in part, by Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior- Brasil (CAPES)—Finance code 001. R.M.S is a recipient of the CNPq fellowship (310472/2021–0).
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Material preparation was performed by Julia Eisenhardt de Mello, Juliane Cardoso, Wilson Cunico, and Marcia Vizzotto. Data collection and analysis was performed by Julia Eisenhardt de Mello, Karina Pereira Luduvico, Alessandra dos Santos, Fernanda Cardoso Teixeira, and Mayara Sandrielly Soares de Aguiar. Francieli Moro Stefanello and Roselia Maria Spanevello contributed to study conception, design, manuscript preparation and financial support. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Julia Eisenhardt de Mello and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All animal experiments were carried out in accordance with the National Institutes of Health Guidelines for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and approved by the Ethics Committee on the Use of Animals of the Federal University of Pelotas (protocol number: 027350/2021–12).
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de Mello, J.E., Luduvico, K.P., dos Santos, A. et al. Therapeutic potential of blackberry extract in the preventing memory deficits and neurochemical alterations in the cerebral cortex, hippocampus and cerebellum of a rat model with amnesia. Metab Brain Dis 38, 1261–1272 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-023-01175-w
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-023-01175-w