Date seeds alleviate behavioural and neuronal complications of metabolic syndrome in rats

Abstract

Unhealthy dietary habits can play a crucial role in metabolic damages, promoting alteration of neural functions through the lifespan. Recently, dietary change has been perceived as the first line intervention in prevention and/or treatment of metabolic damages and related diseases. In this context, our study was designed to assess the eventual therapeutic effect of date seeds administration on memory and learning and on neuronal markers in a rat Metabolic Syndrome model. For this purpose, 32 adult male Wistar rats were fed with standard diet or high-fat high-sugar diet during ten weeks. After this, 16 rats were sacrified and the remaining rats received an oral administration of 300 mg of date seeds/kg of body weight during four supplementary weeks. Before sacrifice, we evaluate cognitive performances by the Barnes maze test. Afterwards, neuronal, astrocytic, microtubular and oxidative markers were investigated by immunoblotting methods. In Metabolic syndrome rats, results showed impairment of spatial memory and histological alterations. We identified neuronal damages in hippocampus, marked by a decrease of NeuN and an increase of GFAP and pTau396. Finally, we recorded an increase in protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation, respectively identified by an up-regulation of protein carbonyls and 4-HNe. Interestingly, date seeds administration improved these behavioural, histological, neuronal and oxidative damages highlighting the neuroprotective effect of this natural compound. Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (LC-MS) identified, in date seeds, protocatechuic acid, caffeoylshikimic acid and vanillic acid, that could potentially prevent the progression of neurodegenerative diseases, acting through their antioxidant properties.

Keywords:

• Metabolic syndrome
• date seeds
• spatial memory
• learning
• hippocampus
• oxidative stress

Acknowledgement

We appreciated the assistance of Abdelhamid Mselmi and Radhouen Ben Kram from the Tunis Faculty of Sciences during animal treatment period. We are extremely thankful to Professor Charles Ramassamy (INRS and INAF, Canada).

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The data that support the findings of this study are available on request from the corresponding author, NEG.

Additional information

Funding

The present work was partially supported by a grant provided by FQRNT Canada.