Suppressive effect of green tea catechins on morphologic and functional regression of the brain in aged mice with accelerated senescence (SAMP10).
Green tea catechins (GT-catechins) have been reported to have an antioxidative effect. We investigated the effect of long-term GT-catechin intake on aging and oxidative damage using aged mice with accelerated senescence (SAMP10), a model of brain senescence with cerebral atrophy and cognitive dysfunction. Major atrophy was observed in the rhinencephalon, hippocampus and striatum of 12-month-old untreated SAMP10 mice. Similarly, levels of 8-oxodeoxyguanosine (8-oxodG), a marker of oxidative DNA damage, were higher in these parts of the cerebrum than in the cerebral cortex and liver. GT-catechin intake effectively suppressed such atrophy in 12-month-old SAMP10 mice. A preventive effect of GT-catechin intake on oxidative DNA damage was also observed in the rhinencephalon (an area particularly susceptible to atrophy) at 6 months of age, i.e. during the early stages of atrophy. A suppressive effect of GT-catechin intake on cognitive dysfunction, as determined by the learning time needed to acquire an avoidance response and assessments of working memory in a Y-maze, was also found in 12-month-old mice. These results suggest that GT-catechin intake partially improves the morphologic and functional alterations that occur naturally in the brains of aged SAMP10 mice.
Unno
Keiko
K
Department of Medical Biochemistry, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka, 52-1 Yada, 422-8526, Japan. unno@u-shizuoka-ken.ac.jp
Takabayashi
Fumiyo
F
Kishido
Takahiro
T
Oku
Naoto
N
D000375:Aging / Q000473:pathology; D019588:Aging, Premature / Q000473:pathology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000818:Animals; D001284:Atrophy / Q000517:prevention & control; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D002392:Catechin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000517:prevention & control; D004249:DNA Damage; D005260:Female; D007858:Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D009929:Organ Size; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D013662:Tea
D010936:Plant Extracts; D013662:Tea; D002392:Catechin