J. Sha, Yan-dan Zhou, Jia-yu Yang
Sep 18, 2019
Citations
1
Influential Citations
41
Citations
Quality indicators
Journal
Journal of agricultural and food chemistry
Abstract
Maltol, a maillard reaction product from ginseng (Panax ginseng C.A Meyer), has been confirmed to inhibit oxidative stress in several animal models. Its beneficial effect on oxidative stress related brain aging is still unclear. In this study, the mouse model of D-galactose (D-Gal)-induced brain aging was employed to investigate the therapeutic effects and potential mechanisms of maltol. Maltol treatment significantly restored memory impairment in mice as determined by the Morris water maze tests. Long-term D-Gal treatment reduced expression of cholinergic regulators, i.e., the cholineacetyltransferase (ChAT) (0.456 ± 0.10 U/mg prot vs 0.211 ± 0.03 U/mg prot), the acetylcholinesterase (AChE) (36.4 ± 5.21 U/g vs 66.5 ± 9.96 U/g). Maltol treatment prevented the reduction of ChAT and AChE in the hippocampus. Maltol decreased oxidative stress levels by reducing levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and malondialdehyde (MDA) production in brain and by elevating anti-oxidative enzymes. Furthermore, maltol treatment minimized oxidative stress by increasing the phosphorylation levels of phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase B (Akt), nuclear factor-erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) and hemeoxygenase-1 (HO-1). The above results clearly indicate that supplementation of maltol diminishes D-Gal-induced behavioral dysfunction and neurological deficits via activation of the PI3K/Akt-mediated Nrf2/HO-1 signaling pathway in brain. Maltol might become a potential drug to slow brain aging process and to stimulate endogenous antioxidant defense capacity. This study provides the novel evidence that maltol may slow the age-associated brain aging.