Effects of Water Caltrop Shell Extract on Learning and Memory Abilities as well as Muscle Strength of Rats with Focal Cerebral Ischemia-reperfusion
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Abstract:
The effects and working mechanism of water caltrop shell extract on the learning and memory abilities as well as muscle strength of rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion were explored. Focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion model was established using adult male SD rats, and the rats were randomly divided into the sham operation group, model group and water caltrop shell extract group, with each group having 8 rats. After 7 days of administration, the rats were scored based on neurological deficits; Morris water maze experiments including place navigation test and space exploration test were carried out; Muscular strength of rats’ four limbs was measured. Meanwhile, the activity of SOD and the content of MDA in the brain tissues were measured. The results showed that the score of neurological deficits for the water caltrop shell extract group was 2.63, which was lower than that of the model group (P<0.05). In the place navigation test, the residence time in the platform’s quadrant for the water caltrop shell extract group was 24.89 s, which was longer than that of the model group (P<0.05), and the swimming distance was 24 084.20 mm, which was significantly prolonged (P<0.001); the latency of success was 16.22 s and total distance was 24 404.65 mm, which were significantly shortened (P<0.001). In spatial probe test, compared with the model group, the number of crossing the effective area was 5.75 times, the duration of staying in the effective area was 22.21 s and the distance of swimming in the effective area was 33 744.41 mm, all of which increased significantly (P<0.05). The four limbs’ muscular strength of the water caltrop shell extract group was 296.18 N/g, which was significantly higher than that of the model group (P<0.001). The SOD activity and MDA content in the brain tissues were 4.27 NU/mg pro and 2.33 nmol/mg pro, respectively, which differed significantly from the model group (P<0.001). The above results showed that the water caltrop shell extract could enhance the learning and memory abilities as well as the muscular strength of rats with focal cerebral ischemia-reperfusion, which may be related to its ability to reduce free radical-induced injury.
