Therapeutic effect of frankincense in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease

Document Type: Original Research Article

Authors

1 Division of Animal Science, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, University of Isfahan

2 Division of Animal Sciences, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran

Abstract


Objective: Frankincense improves memory in different models of learning. However, its influence on models of Alzheimer's disease (AD) has not been studied widely. In the present study, the therapeutic effect of frankincense was evaluated in a model of AD induced by i.c.v administration of streptozotocin.
Materials and Methods: Under stereotaxic surgery, two guide cannulas were implanted in the lateral ventricles of adult male Wistar rats weighing 230-270 g. One group received streptozotocin (1.5 mg/kg/2μl/side) bilaterally on the first and third day of surgery. Another group received artificial cerebro-spinal fluid. Fourteen days after surgery, learning was evaluated using the passive avoidance paradigm. Four other groups of animals received frankincense (50 mg/kg) or its solvent after establishment of AD for 21 or 42 consecutive days, and then, memory retrieval was assessed.
Results: Streptozotocin increased the number of stimulations required for induction of short-term memory and decreased step-through latency on the test day, significantly (p<0.05). Chronic injection of the aqueous extract of frankincense for 21 days did not affect learning parameters, but injection of it for 42 days, significantly increased step-through latency (p<0.05), decreased the number of step-through into the dark compartment (p<0.01) and decreased the time spent in the dark compartment (p<0.05).
Conclusion: The results indicate that chronic administration of frankincense has the potential to improve dementia type of AD induced by i.c.v injection of streptozotocin in a time-dependent manner.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

Ali NA, Wurster M, Arnold N, Teichert A, Schmidt J, Lindequist U, et al. 2008. Chemical composition and biological activities of essential oils from the oleogum resins of three endemic Soqotraen Boswellia species. Rec Nat Prod, 2: 6-12.

Banno N, Akihisa T, Yasukawa K, Tokuda H, Tabata K, Nakamura Y, et al. 2006. Anti-inflammatory activities of the triterpene acids from the resin of Boswellia carteri. J Ethnopharmacol, 107: 249-253.

Beheshti S, Hosseini SA, Noorbakhshnia M, Eivani M. 2014. Role of hippocampal CA1 area gap junction channels on morphine state-dependent learning. Eur J pharmacol, 745: 196-200.

Farshchi A, Ghiasi G, Farshchi S, Malek Khatabi P. 2010. Effects of boswellia papyrifera gum extract on learning and memory in mice and rats. Iran J Basic Med Sci, 13: 9-15.

Heppner FL, Ransohoff RM, Becher B. 2015. Immune attack: the role of inflammation in Alzheimer disease. Nat Rev Neurosci, 16: 358-372.

Hosseini M, Hadjzadeh MA, Derakhshan M, Havakhah S, Rassouli FB, Rakhshandeh H, et al. 2010. The beneficial effects of olibanum on memory deficit induced by hypothyroidism in adult rats tested in Morris water maze. Arch Pharm Res, 33: 463-468.

Hosseini M, Shafei MN, Safari V, Taiarani Z, Kafami Ladani m, Sadeghian R. 2012. The effects of olibanum administered to methimazole-treated dams during lactation on learning and memory of offspring rats. Nat Prod Res, 26: 1544-1548.

Hosseini Sharifabad M, Esfandiari E. 2007. A morphometeric study on CA3 hippocampal field in young rats following maternal administration of Boswellia serrata resin during gestation. Iran J Basic Med Sci, 10: 176-82.

Hosseini Sharifabad M, Esfandiari E. 2011. Effect of Boswellia serrata Triana & Planch. gum resin administration during lactation on morphology of pyramidal neurons in hippocampus of rat. JHD, 2: 45-52.

Hosseini-sharifabad M, Esfandiari E. 2015. Effect of Boswellia serrata gum resin on the morphology of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cells in aged rat. Anat Sci Int, 90: 47-53.

Hosseinzadeh H RM, Akhtar Y, Ziaie ST. 2009. Evaluation of ethyl acetate and N-botanolic fractions of Frankincense on learning and memory of rats in the Morris water maze. J Med Plants, 34: 95-101.

Jalili C, Salahshoor MR, Moradi S, Pourmotabbed A, Motaghi M. 2014. The therapeutic effect of the aqueous extract of boswellia serrata on the learning deficit in kindled rats. Int J Prev med, 5: 563-568.

Kása P, Rakonczay Z, Gulya K. 1997. The cholinergic system in Alzheimer's disease. Prog Neurobiol, 52: 511-535.

Mahmoudi A, Hosseini-Sharifabad A, Monsef-Esfahani HR, Yazdinejad AR, Khanavi M, Roghani A, et al. 2011. Evaluation of systemic administration of Boswellia papyrifera extracts on spatial memory retention in male rats. J Nat Med, 65: 519-525.

Moussaieff A, Shein NA, Tsenter J, Grigoriadis S, Simeonidou C, Alexandrovich AG, et al. 2008. Incensole acetate: a novel neuroprotective agent isolated from Boswellia carterii. J Cereb Blood Flow Metab, 28: 1341-1352.

Mukherjee PK, Kumar V, Mal M, Houghton PJ. 2007. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors from plants. Phytomedicine, 14: 289-300.

Nazem A, Sankowski R, Bacher M, Al-Abed Y. 2015. Rodent models of neuroinflammation for Alzheimer's disease. J Neuroinflamm, 12: 1-15.

Nitsch R, Hoyer S. 1991. Local action of the diabetogenic drug, streptozotocin, on glucose and energy metabolism in rat brain cortex. Neurosci lett, 128: 199-202.

Paxinos G, Watson, C. 2007. The rat brain in stereotaxic coordinates. New York: Academic Press.

Sedighi B, Pardakhty A, Kamali H, Shafiee K, Hasani BN. 2014. Effect of Boswellia papyrifera on cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis. Iran J Neurol, 13:149-153.

Sharma M, Gupta Y. 2001. Intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin in rats produces both oxidative stress in the brain and cognitive impairment. Life Sci, 68: 1021-1029.

Sharma AU, Jitendra; Jain, Amit; Kharya, M D; Namdeo, Ajay; Mahadik, K R. 2011. Antioxidant activity of aqueous extract of Boswellia serrata. J Chem, Biol and Physic Sci, 1: 60-71.

Shoham S, Bejar C, Kovalev E, Weinstock M. 2003. Intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin causes neurotoxicity to myelin that contributes to spatial memory deficits in rats. Exp Neurol, 184: 1043-1052.

Sodhi RK, Singh N. 2013. All-trans retinoic acid rescues memory deficits and neuropathological changes in mouse model of streptozotocin-induced dementia of Alzheimer's type. Prog  Neuro Psychoph, 40: 38-46.

Tabet N. 2006. Acetylcholinesterase inhibitors for Alzheimer's disease: anti-inflammatories in acetylcholine clothing! Age Ageing, 35: 336-338.

Yassin N, El-Shenawy S, Mahdy KA, Gouda N, Marrie A, Farrag A, et al. 2013. Effect of Boswellia serrata on Alzheimer’s disease induced in rats. J Arab Soc Med Res, 8: 1-11.

Zaker S, Beheshti S, Aghaie R, Noorbakhshnia M. 2015. Effect of olibanum on a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease induced by intracerebroventricular injection of streptozotocin. Physiol Pharmacol, 18: 477-489.

Avicenna Journal of Phytomedicine

Volume 6, Issue 4
June 2016
Pages 468-475

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics