Dietary supplementation with Allium hirtifolium and/or Astragalus hamosus improved memory and reduced neuro-inflammation in the rat model of Alzheimer's disease

Allium hirtifolium Boiss and Astragalus hamosus L. are mentioned in Iranian traditional medicine ‎documentation as therapy for a kind of dementia with the features and symptoms similar to those ‎of Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, the effects of these herbs on neuro-‎inflammation and memory have been evaluated as new therapies in amyloid beta (Aβ) induced ‎memory impairment model. Separate groups of rats were fed with A. hirtifolium or A. hamosus ‎extract (both 100 mg/kg/day) started one week before stereotaxic surgery to 24 hours before ‎behavioral ‎testing (totally, for 16 successive days). The effects of oral administration of ‎mentioned extracts on‎‏ the ‏memory and neuro-inflammation were assessed in the Aβ-injected rats. ‎The results of this study showed that oral administration of both A. hirtifolium and A. hamosus ‎improved the memory, examined by using Y-maze test and shuttle box apparatus. Also, Western ‎blotting analysis of cyclooxygenase-2, interleukin-1β and tumor necrosis fact...