Baicalein improves behavioral dysfunction induced by Alzheimer’s disease in rats

Abstract

BackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is considered to be a neurodegenerative disorder that is characterized by increased oxidative stress. Medicinal plants, with their antioxidant properties, have been used to cure several human diseases. The aim of the current study was to explore the protective and therapeutic effect of baicalein on AD-induced rats.Materials and methodsSwiss Wistar rats were used in the study. The rats were divided into five groups. Group I: normal control group treated with water; Group II: disease control treated with AlCl3 to induce the mimicking AD for 4 successive weeks (SW); Group III: normal control group treated with baicalein (5 mg/kg) for 2 SW followed by combination of baicalein and AlCl3 for 4 SW; Group IV: normal control group treated with baicalein (10 mg/kg) for 2 SW followed by combination of baicalein and AlCl3 for 4 SW; Group V: normal control group treated with rivastigmine (0.3 mg/kg) for 2 SW followed by combination of rivastigmine and AlCl3 for 4 SW. Moreover, the therapeutic groups are as follows: Group VI: AD disease control treated with AlCl3 for 4 SW and serving as the therapeutic positive group; Group VII: AD disease control + baicalein (5 mg/kg) for 12 SW; Group VIII: AD disease control + baicalein (10 mg/kg) for 12 SW; Group IX: AD disease control + rivastigmine (0.3 mg/kg) for 12 SW. Behavioral test, T-maze, and rotarod test were also performed before and after the treatment. At the end of the experimental study, all the rats were sacrificed and their brains were removed and divided into two portions. The first portion was homogenated for estimating the level of acetylcholinesterase (AchE) and acetylcholine (Ach). Another portion was used for histopathological evaluation.ResultsThe current investigation showed that baicalein significantly reduced the duration of revolving on the rotarod, cage activity, and T-maze activity in a dose-dependent manner compared with the AD control group rats. It also altered the AchE and Ach levels in the brain homogenates. The histopathology study also provides strength to the protective effect of baicalein.ConclusionThe current study showed that baicalein significantly (P<0.05) improved the biochemical and histopathological condition of AD in rats.

Baicalein Exerts Neuroprotective Effects in FeCl3-Induced Posttraumatic Epileptic Seizures via Suppressing Ferroptosis

“…We next focused on the neuroprotective mechanisms of baicalein in posttraumatic epileptic seizures. According to previous reports, the neuroprotective effects of baicalein are closely correlated with its antioxidant properties (Gao et al, 2015; Gu et al, 2016; Zhou et al, 2016). Oxidative stress is intricately involved in the pathogenesis of a variety of neurological diseases, including epilepsy, AD, PD, cerebral ischemia–reperfusion injury, etc.…”

“…With the wide application of neuroprotective strategies in neurological disease (Szwajgier et al, 2017; Mendes et al, 2019), traditional Chinese medicine has attracted increasing attention due to its advantages of easy penetration of blood–brain barrier and abundance in nature (Zeng, 2017; Chen and Lin, 2018). Baicalein (5,6,7-trihydroxyflavone) is a type of flavonoid compound, which can be acquired from the roots of Scutellaria baicalensis , has possessed remarkable neuroprotective effects in neurological diseases, such as AD and PD (Li et al, 2011; Gao et al, 2015; Gu et al, 2016; Zhou et al, 2016; Dinda et al, 2017; Liu et al, 2017). In addition, it has recently been reported that baicalein could exert significant neuroprotective effects in the treatment of temporal lobe epilepsy by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation (Qian et al, 2019).…”

Traditional Chinese medicine for anti-Alzheimer’s disease: berberine and evodiamine from Evodia rutaecarpa

“…Ginkgo biloba extract, such as EGB761, can improve cognitive function, neuropsychiatric symptoms and functional abilities in AD [7]. Monomers such as baicalein [8], tanshinone [9] and huperzine A [10] extracted from herbal medicines are also proved to demonstrate curative effects against AD. Therefore, TCMs are expected to become promising candidates for the prevention and treatment of AD.…”

Therapeutic Potential of Baicalein in Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease

“…Several in vitro studies have shown that baicalein is effective in preventing neurotoxicity induced by a variety of neurotoxins and stress inducers, including Aβ (Lin et al, 2017;Wang et al, 2004), 6-hydroxydopamine (6-OHDA) (Lee et al, 2005), rotenone (Li et al, 2012),H2O2 (Zhang et al, 2010), and glutamate (Lee et al, 2003), and others. In recent studies, moreover, baicalein has been shown to possess neuroprotective properties in several animal models of AD and PD (Cheng et al, 2008;Gao et al, 2015;Gu et al, 2016;Zhou et al, 2016). Thus, baicalein has been in the focus of research as a versatile therapeutic agent for central neurodegenerative diseases (Fig.…”