Combinatorial Treatment of Tart Cherry Extract and Essential Fatty Acids Reduces Cognitive Impairments and Inflammation in the mu-p75 Saporin-Induced Mouse Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than five million Americans and is characterized by a progressive loss of memory, loss of cholinergic neurons in the basal forebrain, formation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles, and an increase in oxidative stress. Recent studies indicate that dietary supplements of antioxidants and omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids may reduce the cognitive deficits in AD patients. The current study tested a combinatorial treatment of antioxidants from tart cherry extract and essential fatty acids from Nordic fish and emu oils for reducing cognitive deficits in the mu-p75 saporin (SAP)-induced mouse model of AD. Mice were given daily gavage treatments of Cerise(®) Total-Body-Rhythm™ (TBR; containing tart cherry extract, Nordic fish oil, and refined emu oil) or vehicle (methylcellulose) for 2 weeks before intracerebroventricular injections of the cholinergic toxin, mu-p75 SAP, or phosphate-buffered saline. The TBR treatments continued for an additional 17 days, when the mice were tested on a battery of cognitive and motor tasks. Results indicate that TBR decreased the SAP-induced cognitive deficits assessed by the object-recognition, place-recognition, and Morris-water-maze tasks. Histological examination of the brain tissue indicated that TBR protected against SAP-induced inflammatory response and loss of cholinergic neurons in the area around the medial septum. These findings indicate that TBR has the potential to serve as an adjunctive treatment which may help reduce the severity of cognitive deficits in disorders involving cholinergic deficits, such as AD.

Tissue bioavailability of anthocyanins from whole tart cherry in healthy rats

“…In various rat models, we reported that tart cherry fruit intake reduces blood lipids and inflammation and alters phenotypes of metabolic syndrome (Seymour et al, 2008;Seymour et al, 2009). Tart cherry also affects activity of PPARs in various tissues and various gene transcripts related to inflammation (Matchynski et al, 2013;Seymour et al, 2009;Zhou, Nair, & Claycombe, 2012). Phytochemicals in tart cherry fruits may be directly cytoprotective by altering gene transcription and translation, thereby improving resistance to oxidative and inflammatory stressors.…”

Tart cherry in amelioration of pain in the elderly

“…This is particularly so in adipose tissue; animals prone to obesity, insulin resistance and hyperlipidemia; and older adults with compromised resistance to oxidative stress. However, the sample sizes studied are very small and the authors did not provide evidence of sufficient statistical power to detect a true difference between placebo and treatment groups [10][11][12][13][14].…”

“…Anthocyanin intake in animals may contribute to improvements in certain chronic diseases associated with aging, such as hyperlipidemia, obesity, atherosclerosis, and Alzheimer's [10][11][12]. Matchynski et al found that a tart cherry extract combined with a fish and emu oil supplement lessened induced cognitive deficits in an Alzheimer's mouse model.…”

“…Matchynski et al found that a tart cherry extract combined with a fish and emu oil supplement lessened induced cognitive deficits in an Alzheimer's mouse model. Seventeen days after mu-p75 saporin (SAP) induction of Alzheimer's, the mice receiving the combination treatment were protected against neuron loss and the SAP-induced inflammation compared to placebo [10]. Anthocyanins are also thought to influence the activity of tissue peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs), important transcription factors involved in lipid metabolism and inflammation.…”

“…The purpose of this review is to summarize and critically examine in vitro and in vivo human and animal studies (Table 1) on the efficacy of tart cherry products for pain relief in chronic diseases. Since the majority of the published human studies [10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23] are insufficiently powered, it is not possible to conduct a meta-analysis to ascertain the role of tart cherry in pain relief.…”