title: Improvement of neurological disorders in postmenopausal model rats by administration of royal jelly.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Royal jelly (RJ) from honeybees (Apis mellifera) has estrogenic activity. Estrogen deficiency after menopause leads to a high risk of memory impairment and depression as well as metabolic syndrome and osteoporosis. We here investigated the effect of RJ on memory impairment and depression-like behaviors in ovariectomized (OVX) rats.
  
  
  METHODS
  OVX rats were administered with RJ for 82 days. Hippocampus-dependent spatial memory and depression-like behaviors were assessed by the Morris water maze test and the forced swimming test, respectively. The weights of body, brain and uterus and the contents of protein and myelin galactolipids including galactosylceramide and sulfatide were measured.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Memory impairment and depression-like behaviors in OVX rats were recovered to the levels of sham-operated rats by RJ administration. Increased body weight and decreased uterine weight in OVX rats were recovered to the levels of sham-operated rats by 17β-estradiol (E2) administration but not by RJ administration. In contrast, brain weight was slightly increased by RJ administration but not by E2 administration. The contents of protein and myelin galactolipids were higher in the brains of RJ-administered OVX rats than in the brains of E2-administered OVX rats.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results suggest that RJ has a beneficial effect on neurological symptoms of a menopausal disorder.
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Minami
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , School of Medicine, Aichi Medical University , Nagakute , Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Matsushita
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Ieno
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Matsuda
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Horii
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ishii
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: c Department of Functional Anatomy, School of Nursing , University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kanazawa
authors.affiliation: b Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology , School of Medicine, Aichi Medical University , Nagakute , Japan.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wakatsuki
authors.affiliation: a Department of Biochemistry , School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Shizuoka , Shizuoka , Japan.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Suzuki
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001522:Behavior, Animal / Q000187:drug effects; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects; D003863:Depression / Q000188:drug therapy*; D004958:Estradiol / Q000494:pharmacology; D005227:Fatty Acids / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D005260:Female; D038983:Galactolipids / Q000032:analysis; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D009186:Myelin Sheath / Q000737:chemistry; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000032:analysis; D009929:Organ Size / Q000187:drug effects; D010052:Ovariectomy; D017698:Postmenopause / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D013550:Swimming; D014599:Uterus / Q000187:drug effects; D000099219:Royal Jelly
chemical_list: D004958:Estradiol; D005227:Fatty Acids; D038983:Galactolipids; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D000099219:Royal Jelly
keywords: Royal jelly; depression; estrogen; memory impairment; ovariectomized rat; postmenopausal syndrome; fatty acids; sterols