Abstract
Sesame lignans, which are biologically active compounds present in sesame seeds and oil, are known to have neuroprotective effects in several models of brain dysfunction. However, the effects of sesame lignans on age-related brain dysfunction are not clear and were thus investigated in the present study using a senescence-accelerated mouse (SAMP10). Two-month-old male SAMP10 mice were administrated a basal diet with 0% or 0.05% sesame lignans for two months, or with 0%, 0.02%, or 0.05% sesame lignans for 10 months and subjected to step-through passive avoidance tasks and forced swim tests. Reactive carbonyl species (RCs) were evaluated as markers of oxidative stress using a recently developed comprehensive analytical method. Both learning time in passive avoidance tasks and immobile time in forced swim tests became longer with aging (p < 0.05). However, the administration of sesame lignans significantly ameliorated age-related effects in both tests (p < 0.05). Age-related increases in RCs such as 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal in the cerebral cortex and liver were reduced in mice fed sesame lignans. These results suggest that sesame lignans can prevent age-related brain dysfunction via anti-oxidative activity.
Highlights
Aging is an inevitable biological process characterized by a gradual decline in physiological function that can lead to various age-related disorders
In the present study we showed that sesame lignans suppressed age-related cognitive decline and behavioral depression in SAMP10, which is a model strain that exhibits a high degree of oxidative stress in the brain due to an accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS)
Previous studies showed that sesamin/episesamin reduce neuronal damage induced by neurotoxic chemicals through the suppression of oxidative stress, and that sesamin suppresses the decline in dopamine neurons with aging in superoxide dismutase-1 depleted Drosophila [37]
Summary
Aging is an inevitable biological process characterized by a gradual decline in physiological function that can lead to various age-related disorders. Cognitive decline including impaired memory and learning ability is a well-known age-related disorder and might, as it progresses, lead to dementia. Dementia is among the major reasons that aging people require nursing care and results in seriously impaired quality of life. A number of studies have suggested that oxidative damage accumulates in the brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia [2], and oxidative stress is considered one of the main causes of age-related cognitive decline. Oxidative stress causes damage to cellular components including polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), DNA, and proteins, leading to the onset or acceleration of degenerative disorders [3]. Human brains produce excessive free radicals because they consume approximately 20% of total body oxygen despite comprising less than 2% of total body weight
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