title: Consumption of fig fruits grown in Oman can improve memory, anxiety, and learning skills in a transgenic mice model of Alzheimer's disease.
abstract: Alzheimer disease (AD) is one of the most common forms of dementia in the elderly. Several reports have suggested neurotoxic effects of amyloid beta protein (Aβ) and role of oxidative stress in AD. Figs are rich in fiber, copper, iron, manganese, magnesium, potassium, calcium, vitamin K, and are a good source of proanthocyanidins and quercetin which demonstrate potent antioxidant properties. We studied the effect of dietary supplementation with 4% figs grown in Oman on the memory, anxiety, and learning skills in APPsw/Tg2576 (Tg mice) mice model for AD. We assessed spatial memory and learning ability, psychomotor coordination, and anxiety-related behavior in Tg and wild-type mice at the age of 4 months and after 15 months using the Morris water maze test, rota-rod test, elevated plus maze test, and open-field test. Tg mice that were fed a control diet without figs showed significant memory deficits, increased anxiety-related behavior, and severe impairment in spatial, position discrimination learning ability, and motor coordination compared to the wild-type control mice on the same diet, and Tg mice fed on 4% fig diet supplementation for 15 months. Our results suggest that dietary supplementation of figs may be useful for the improvement of cognitive and behavioral deficits in AD.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Nutrition , College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.|b Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.
authors.forename: Selvaraju
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Subash
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Nutrition , College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.|b Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.
authors.forename: Musthafa Mohamed
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Essa
authors.affiliation: c Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of New South Wales , Sydney , Australia.
authors.forename: Nady
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Braidy
authors.affiliation: a Department of Food Science and Nutrition , College of Agriculture and Marine Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.|b Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.
authors.forename: Ahood
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Jabri
authors.affiliation: b Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.|d College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.
authors.forename: Ragini
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Vaishnav
authors.affiliation: b Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.|d College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.
authors.forename: Samir
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Al-Adawi
authors.affiliation: b Ageing and Dementia Research Group, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.|d College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Sultan Qaboos University , Muscat , Oman.
authors.forename: Abdullah
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Al-Asmi
authors.affiliation: e Neuropharmacology Group, MND and Neurodegenerative diseases Research Centre, Macquarie University , NSW , Australia.
authors.forename: Gilles J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Guillemin
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000178:diet therapy* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D000818:Animals; D001007:Anxiety / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D019587:Dietary Supplements; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D005260:Female; D030681:Ficus / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry / Q000254:growth & development; D055951:Functional Food; D007859:Learning Disabilities / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D051379:Mice; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D009850:Oman; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D065853:Spatial Learning; D065852:Spatial Memory; D013047:Specific Pathogen-Free Organisms
chemical_list: D018697:Nootropic Agents; D010936:Plant Extracts
keywords: APPsw/Tg2576 mice behavior study; Alzheimer's disease; Figs; Oman; Rota-rod test; Water maze