Ferulic acid and vinpocetine intake improves memory function by enhancing insulin sensitivity and reducing neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in type 2 diabetic animals with induced Alzheimer's disease

Abstract

We aimed to examine the hypothesis that dietary ferulic acid and vinpocetine intake improve the memory deficits caused by hippocampal amyloid-β accumulation in type 2 diabetic(T2DM) rats with induced Alzheimer’s disease(AD). Their mechanisms were also tested. Partial pancreatectomized animals with hippocampal amyloid-β(25–35) infusion representing Asian T2DM developed AD (AD rats; memory deficit). After the eight-week intervention, memory impairment was impeded in the AD-FRA fed ferulic acid(50 mg/kg BW) and AD-VPC vinpocetine(50 mg/kg BW; AD-VPC) through the inhibition of amyloid-β deposition and neuroinflammation compared to the AD-CON. The AD-FRA showed less amyloid-β deposition than the AD-VPC group. The AD-FRA and AD-VPC groups showed an inhibited attenuation of the hippocampal phosphorylated Akt → glycogen-synthase kinase(GSK)-3β → forkhead box protein O1(FOXO1) pathway, and AD-FRA showed similar protection as CON. No adverse effects in AD-FRA and AD-VPC were detected. In conclusion, vinpocetine and ferulic acid supplementation suppressed the memory deficits in T2DM rats with AD, and ferulic acid showed better improvement than vinpocetine, similar to no AD-induced rats.

Keywords

• Memory deficits
• Hippocampal insulin signaling
• Neuroinflammation
• Oxidative stress
• Amyloid-β