Abstract
Aim: Beneficial effects of virgin coconut oil (VCO) consumption to improve cognition in menopausal females remain inconclusive. This study examined the effect of VCO supplementation in aging cycling and non-cycling rodents to assess its impact on cognition. Methods: Sprague-Dawley rats (10 - 18 months) were randomly assigned to a supplemented VCO group (SVCO) that received oral doses of 1.42 mL/kg/day VCO (n = 10) and a non-supplemented (NVCO) group (n = 10). Their performance in a biased Y-maze discriminative learning paradigm was assessed over a 16-week period. Rats were initially allowed 3 minutes to explore the maze (habituated) and subsequently pre-trained in the non-preferred, white chamber to associate the presentation of a tone with a treat (reward). Training involved 4 daily trials initially for 3 weeks during which rats were rewarded if they entered the white arm within 15 sec after tone presentation. Time (days) to attain at least 75% correct responses (CR) determined acquisition latency (AL). Memory retention (MR1) of the learned task was assessed following a 1-week break from training and absence of supplementation (session T1). Following an additional 2-week break, supplementation of SVCO animals resumed and continued to week 16. In week 14, all animals received re-training for 1 week (session T2) followed by another 1-week break and subsequent assessment of memory (MR2). Vaginal smear cytology determinations were performed throughout the study to identify cycling and non-cycling rats. Student’s t-test and ANOVA with Brown-Forsythe and Tukey’s post-hoc tests were used to compare means. Results: C-SVCO rats attained lower AL, and higher CR and MR scores vs their NVCO counterparts (p Conclusion: VCO supplementation attenuated cognitive decline with a more positive impact on non-cycling rodents suggesting a beneficial effect on brain health in females in menopausal transition.
Highlights
Aging menopausal females are at increased risk of cognitive decline due in part to the sudden decrease in bioavailable estrogen that causes diminished neuroprotective effects on learning and memory [1] [2]
This study examined the effect of virgin coconut oil (VCO) supplementation in aging cycling and non-cycling rodents to assess its impact on cognition
Pairwise comparisons revealed significant increases in correct responses (CR) by supplemented VCO group (SVCO) ≤ 14-mo-old rats compared to NVCO ≥ 15-mo-old rats (p = 0.04)
Summary
Aging menopausal females are at increased risk of cognitive decline due in part to the sudden decrease in bioavailable estrogen that causes diminished neuroprotective effects on learning and memory [1] [2]. Women in the fifth decade of life with reproductive organs intact, will begin the transition through perimenopause to menopause at which stage ovarian secretion of estrogen and progesterone will decline [3]. Hormonal dysregulation may cause rodents to exhibit a prolonged acyclic phase prior to frank ovarian failure. During this period, there may be persistent estrus [8] [9] [10] [11] in which FSH levels are elevated and 17β-estradiol levels are normal, a hormonal milieu similar to human perimenopause [8] [12] [13]
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