Protective effects of xanthoceraside on learning and memory impairment induced by intracerebroventricular injections of Aβ_(1-42) in mice

Objective To investigate the effects of xanthoceraside on learning and memory impairment induced in mice by intracerebroventricular(i.c.v.)injection of aggregated peptide β-amyloid 1-42(Aβ1-42).Methods Learning and memory functions in mice were examined using Y-maze and novel object recognition tests.Biochemical determination of malondialdehyde(MDA),glutathione(GSH),the ratio of glutathione and glutathione oxidized(GSH/GSSG),and T-AOC(total anti-oxidative capacity)were measured with spectrophotometric method.Results Administration of xanthoceraside increased the percentage of alternation behaviors in the Y-maze test and increase the total time of the novel object exploration and preferential index for the novel object in the novel object recognition test in mice impaired by Aβ1-42.Biochemical studies showed that the decrease of tGSH,GSH/GSSG,T-AOC and increase of MDA in mice impaired by Aβ1-42 were significantly ameliorated by xanthoceraside administration.Conclusions The results indicate that xanthoceraside has the effect of improving learning and memory impairment in mice induced by i.c.v.of Aβ1-42 via inhibiting oxidative stress.