demethoxycurcumin and Memory-Disorders

In the present study, we examined the ameliorating effects of demethoxycurcumin (DMC) on memory impairment induced by scopolamine using passive avoidance and Morris water maze tests in mice. Moreover, to determine the neurobiological effects underlying the ameliorating effects of the DMC, choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) immunoreactivity was evaluated in mice exposed to scopolamine. Our results demonstrated that chronic oral administration (28 days) of DMC (10 mg/kg) improved scopolamine-induced learning impairment in the passive avoidance task and memory impairment in the Morris water maze. Moreover, Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) activity in the DMC-treated group was significantly increased to 33.03% compared with the control group. Our present finding suggests that DMC ameliorates memory impairments induced by scopolamine treatment through reversing the reduction of hippocampal ChAT expression in mice.

Topics: Administration, Oral; Animals; Avoidance Learning; Choline O-Acetyltransferase; Curcumin; Diarylheptanoids; Disease Models, Animal; Drug Administration Schedule; Gene Expression Regulation; Male; Maze Learning; Memory Disorders; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Scopolamine

This study investigated the neuroprotective effects of the curcuminoids against lead-induced neurotoxicity. The results show that lead significantly increases lipid peroxidation and reduces the viability of primary hippocampal neurons in culture. This lead-induced toxicity was significantly curtailed by the co-incubation of the neurons with the curcuminoids. In a whole animal experiment, rats were trained in a water maze and thereafter dosed with lead and/or curcumin (CURC), demethoxycurcumin (DMC), or bisdemethoxycurcumin (BDMC) for 5 days. Animals treated with curcumin and demethoxycurcumin but not bisdemethoxycurcumin had more glutathione and less oxidized proteins in the hippocampus than those treated with lead alone. These animals also had faster escape latencies when compared to the Pb-treated animals indicating that CURC- and DMC-treated animals retain the spatial reference memory. The findings of this study indicate that curcumin, a well-established dietary antioxidant, is capable of playing a major role against heavy metal-induced neurotoxicity and has neuroprotective properties.

Topics: Animals; Curcumin; Diarylheptanoids; Glutathione; Hippocampus; Lead; Male; Memory Disorders; Nerve Tissue Proteins; Oxidation-Reduction; Rats; Rats, Wistar