Effects of grape seed proanthocyanidin on Alzheimer's disease in vitro and in vivo

Abstract

Grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSPA) consists of catechin, epicatechin and epicatechin gallate, which are strong antioxidants that are beneficial to health and may attenuate or prevent Alzheimer's disease (AD). In the present study, the effects of GSPA on pheochromocytoma (PC12) cell viability were determined using cell counting kit-8 and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) assays, whereas apoptosis and mitochondrial membrane potential (Ψm) were measured via flow cytometry analysis. The effect of GSPA administration on the behavior and memory of amyloid precursor protein (APP)/presenilin-1 (PS-1) double transgenic mice was assessed using a Morris water maze. APP Aβ peptides and tau hyperphosphorylation were examined by western blotting; whereas the expression levels of PS-1 were evaluated by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and compared with pathological sections stained with hematoxylin-eosin and Congo red. Data from the in vitro experiments demonstrated that GSPA significantly alleviated Aβ25–35 cytotoxicity and LDH leakage ratio, inhibited apoptosis and increased Ψm. The findings from the in vivo experiments showed a significant enhancement in cognition and spatial memory ability, an improvement in the pathology of APP and tau protein and a decrease in PS-1 mRNA expression levels. Therefore, the results of the present study indicated that GSPA may be a novel therapeutic strategy for the treatment of AD or may, at the very least, improve the quality of life of patients with AD.

Grape Seed Oil as a Natural Therapy in Male Rats with Alzheimer’s Diseases

“…The obtained results are in consistency with the results of a study performed by Lian et al showed that Don group exhibited significantly decreased latency (P<0.01) and a significantly increased number of platform crossings (P<0.01), as compared with non-treated group. 30 Cognitive impairment of Scop is a result of destruction in cholinergic neurotransmission and increase of oxidative stress. 31 Thus, factors which are able to ameliorate these effects on cholinergic system and/or oxidative stress might be beneficial in AD treatment.…”

Wine Polyphenols and Neurodegenerative Diseases: An Update on the Molecular Mechanisms Underpinning Their Protective Effects

“…Finally, a preclinical study demonstrated that grape seed proanthocyanidin (GSPA), which consists of catechin, epicatechin and epicatechin gallate, can interrupt the aggregation of neurotoxic Aβ (Figure 4) [76]. Altogether these data suggest that polyphenols may have the potential to reduce protein aggregation, a phenomenon important in AD progression.…”

“…Anthocyanins were reported to activate the phosphorylation of anti-phosphorylated GSK3β at Ser 9, thereby possibly preventing GSK-3β-dependent tau hyperphosphorylation at Ser 413 and 404 [80]. GSPA is also able to decrease hyperphosphorylated tau deposition in APP/PS1 male heterozygous mice (Figure 4) [76].…”

Antioxidants and Dementia Risk: Consideration through a Cerebrovascular Perspective

“…These include apocynin [66,67,68], baicalein [69], caffeine [70,71,109], curcumin [72,73,74], niacin [64], nicotine [64], pinocembrin [75,76,110], resveratrol [77,78,79,80,81,111], polyphenols [112], and tanshinone IIA [82,83,84]. However, the number of studies investigating the effects of these agents on neurodegeneration and cognitive performance is limited.…”