Effects of blackberries on motor and cognitive function in aged rats
Abstract
The polyphenolics in fruits and vegetables, when fed to rats from 19-21 months of age, have been shown to retard and even reverse age-related decrements in motor and cognitive performance. These effects may be the result of the polyphenols increasing antioxidant and/or anti-inflammatory levels, or by direct effects on signaling, in the brain. Increased dietary intake of berry fruit, in particular, has a positive and profound impact on human health, performance, and disease. Thus, the present study examined a 2% blackberry-supplemented diet for its effectiveness in reversing age-related deficits in behavioral and neuronal function when fed to aged (19-month-old) Fischer 344 rats for 8 weeks. The results showed that the blackberry diet improved motor performance on three tasks which rely on balance and co-ordination: the accelerating rotarod, wire suspension, and the small plank walk. Results for the Morris water maze showed that the blackberry-fed rats had significantly greater working, or short-term, memory performance than the control rats. These data support our previous investigations in which we have seen improved motor and cognitive performance in aged rats after supplementation with other berry fruits.
研究表明，在19-21个月大的老鼠吃水果和蔬菜时，水果和蔬菜中的多酚可以延缓甚至逆转与年龄相关的运动和认知能力下降。这些作用可能是多酚增加抗氧化和/或抗炎水平的结果，或通过对大脑信号传导的直接影响。特别是增加浆果的饮食摄入量，对人类的健康、表现和疾病有积极和深远的影响。因此，本研究检测了添加2%黑莓的饮食在喂养19个月大的费舍尔344只大鼠8周后，对其在行为和神经元功能方面的年龄相关缺陷的扭转效果。结果显示，黑莓饮食改善了运动表现在三项依赖平衡和协调的任务:加速旋转杆，钢丝悬吊和小木板走。莫里斯水迷宫实验的结果显示，喂食黑莓的大鼠比对照组大鼠有更大的工作或短期记忆表现。这些数据支持了我们之前的研究，在这些研究中，我们发现在补充其他浆果后，老年大鼠的运动和认知能力得到了改善。
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