Effect of short-term oral supplementation of crocin on age-related oxidative stress, cholinergic, and mitochondrial dysfunction in rat cerebral cortex.
BACKGROUND AND AIM
Aging is associated with oxidative stress and altered cholinergic and mitochondrial function. Crocin is a carotenoid antioxidant that quenches free radicals and protects cells and tissues from oxidation in biological systems. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effect of oral supplementation of Crocin on age-associated oxidative stress, cholinergic, and mitochondrial function in rat cerebral cortex.


MAIN METHODS
The middle-aged (15 months old) rats were segregated into three groups (n = 6): Control (ad-libitum fed +0.9% saline as vehicle), Cro 50 (ad-libitum fed + crocin 50 mg/kg/day), Cro 150 (ad-libitum fed + crocin 150 mg/kg/day). The experiment was scheduled for 45 days. The serum and brain parameters were estimated after euthanasia.


KEY FINDINGS
Crocin supplementation of Cro 50 and Cro 150 displayed a relative decline in body weight gain during the experimental period and significantly reduced age-associated serum triglyceride level over control. In rat cerebral cortex, age-associated macromolecular damage, decline in endogenous antioxidants and an increase in intracellular calcium concentration were significantly reversed due to oral supplementation of Crocin. Cro 150 significantly improved acetylcholine content as a consequence of acetylcholinesterase inhibition. Further, remarkable mitochondrial function was observed in Cro 150 over the control group as determined by citrate synthase and cytochrome C oxidase enzyme activities.


SIGNIFICANCE
Oral supplementation of Crocin significantly reversed age-associated oxidative stress and neuroinflammatory markers. Meanwhile, Cro 150 remarkably improved cholinergic and mitochondrial function over the control group and facilitated further delay in the aging process due to enhanced cognitive effect.
['Krishnaswamy|V K D|VKD|', 'Alugoju|Phaniendra|P|', 'Periyasamy|Latha|L|']
D000109:Acetylcholine D000110:Acetylcholinesterase D000284:Administration, Oral D000375:Aging D000818:Animals D015415:Biomarkers D002338:Carotenoids D002540:Cerebral Cortex D018678:Cholinergic Agents D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors D019587:Dietary Supplements D008297:Male D008928:Mitochondria D028361:Mitochondrial Diseases D018384:Oxidative Stress D051381:Rats D017208:Rats, Wistar
Crocin Oxidative stress And mitochondrial function Acetylcholine Anti-aging