Abstract
Menopause is a natural aging process characterized by decreased levels of sex hormones in females. Deprivation of estrogen following menopause results in alterations of dendritic arborization of the neuron that leads to neurobehavioral complications. Hormone replacement therapy is in practice to manage postmenopausal conditions but is associated with a lot of adverse effects. In the present study, the efficacy of buckwheat tartary (Fagopyrum tataricum) whole seed extract was investigated against the neurobehavioral complication in middle-aged ovariectomized rats, which mimic the clinical postmenopausal condition. Hydroalcoholic extraction (80% ethanol) was done, and quantification of major marker compounds in the extract was performed using HPLC. Oral treatment of the extract following the critical window period rescued the reconsolidation process of spatial and recognition memory, as well as depression-like behavior. Gene expression analysis disclosed elevated oxidative stress and neuroinflammation that largely disturb the integrity of the blood-brain barrier in ovariectomized rats. Gfap and Pparγ expression also showed reactive astrogliosis in the rats subjected to ovariectomy. The extract treatment reverted the elevated oxidative stress, neuroinflammation and expression of the studied genes. Furthermore, protein expression analysis revealed that Gsk-3β was activated differentially in the brain, as suggested by β-catenin protein expression, which was normalized following the treatment with extract and rescued the altered neurobehavioral process. The results of the current study concluded that Fagopyrum tataricum seed extract is better option to overcome the neurobehavioral complications associated with the menopause.
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Data Availability
The data will be made available on a reasonable request to the authors.
Abbreviations
- BBB:
-
Blood-brain barrier
- FST:
-
Forced swimming test
- GFAP:
-
Glial fibrillary acidic protein
- Gsk-3β:
-
Glycogen synthase kinase-3 beta
- HRT:
-
Hormonal replacement therapy
- Il1b :
-
Interleukin-1beta
- Il2 :
-
Interleukin-2
- MWM:
-
Morris water maze
- Nfe2l2 :
-
Nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2
- Nf-κb:
-
Nuclear factor-κB
- NORT:
-
Novel object recognition test
- Nqo1 :
-
NAD(P)H dehydrogenase (quinone) 1
- Ocln :
-
Occludin
- OFT:
-
Open field test
- Pparg :
-
Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma
- RT :
-
Room temperature and
- Tjp1 :
-
Tight junction protein 1
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Acknowledgements
The authors are thankful to the Director, CSIR-IHBT, Palampur (HP), India, for providing the necessary facilities. The authors are also thankful to Ms. Avantika Bhardwaj (PA-II) for helping in chemical quantification. The institute communication number for this manuscript is 5149.
Funding
The worked carried out in the present study was financially supported by CSIR, New Delhi, under project MLP-0204. RK is thankful to CSIR, New Delhi, for providing CSIR-JRF fellowship vide letter no: 31/054(0157)/2020-EMR-I, AKR is grateful to the DST, India, for providing DST‐INSPIRE fellowship, vide letter no: DST/INSPIRE fellowship/[IF160224].
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AKR performed the animal surgery, behavior experiments, protein expression, and wrote the manuscript. SS carried out the gene expression studies. RK characterized the F. tataricum seed extract. DS conceptualized the idea, analysed the data, wrote, and edited the manuscript.
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Rana, A.K., Sharma, S., Kumar, R. et al. Buckwheat tartary regulates the Gsk-3β/β-catenin pathway to prevent neurobehavioral impairments in a rat model of surgical menopause. Metab Brain Dis 38, 1859–1875 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-023-01213-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-023-01213-7