Royal Jelly Ameliorates Behavioral Deficits, Cholinergic System Deficiency, and Autonomic Nervous Dysfunction in Ovariectomized Cholesterol-Fed Rabbits

Abstract

Estrogen deficiency after menopause is associated with autonomic nervous changes, leading to memory impairment and increased susceptibility to Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Royal jelly (RJ) from honeybees (Apis mellifera) has estrogenic activity. Here, we investigated whether RJ can improve behavior, cholinergic and autonomic nervous function in ovariectomized (OVX) cholesterol-fed rabbits. OVX rabbits on high-cholesterol diet were administered with RJ for 12 weeks. The results showed that RJ could significantly improve the behavioral deficits of OVX cholesterol-fed rabbits and image structure of the brain. RJ reduced body weight, blood lipid, as well as the levels of amyloid-beta (Aβ), acetylcholinesterase (AchE), and malonaldehyde (MDA) in the brain. Moreover, RJ also increased the activities of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the brain, and enhanced heart rate variability (HRV) and Baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) in OVX cholesterol-fed rabbits. Furthermore, RJ was also shown to reduce the content of Evans blue and the expression levels of Aβ, beta-site APP cleaving enzyme 1(BACE1), and receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), and increase the expression level of LDL(low density lipoprotein) receptor-related protein 1 (LRP-1) in the brain. Our findings suggested that RJ has beneficial effects in neurological disorders of postmenopausal women, which were associated with reducing cholesterol and Aβ deposition, enhancing the estrogen levels and the activities of cholinergic and antioxidant systems, and ameliorating the blood–brain barrier (BBB) permeability and restoring autonomic nervous system.

Apitherapy for Age-Related Skeletal Muscle Dysfunction (Sarcopenia): A Review on the Effects of Royal Jelly, Propolis, and Bee Pollen

“…Panels ( A , B ) describe the composition and the biological properties of royal jelly, bee pollen, and propolis. Thanks to their rich structure (which consists of proteins, polyphenols, vitamins, minerals, and trace elements) [ 2 , 28 , 37 , 49 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 68 , 80 , 86 ], these bee substances demonstrate a wide range of therapeutic activities such as counteracting inflammation and oxidative stress, in addition to many others [ 37 , 38 , 39 , 43 , 45 , 63 , 83 ]. Panel ( C ) summarizes the effects of royal jelly, bee pollen, and propolis on skeletal muscle.…”

New Insights into the Biological and Pharmaceutical Properties of Royal Jelly

“…Pharmaceutical studies elucidate that RJ has multiple activities that are attributable to their bioactive compounds, including proteins, peptides, lipids, phenolics, and flavonoid compounds. Recently, RJ has shown potential for use against cancer, diabetic, cardiovascular, and Alzheimer's disease (AD) in modern pharmaceutical research [77,102,110]. The pharmaceutical effects of RJ ( Figure 5) and its constituents in health-promotion through modulation of various biological activities are discussed below.…”

“…RJ administration has the potential to consolidate the learning, memory abilities, and longevity of honeybees [112], and the intake of RJ has the potential to ameliorate cognitive deficits [103]. RJ ingestion is effective on neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease in postmenopausal patients, via decreasing cholesterol and amyloid-beta deposition, increasing cholinergic response, estrogen level, and also improving the blood-brain barrier and autonomic nervous systems [102]. Moreover, RJ significantly improves the behavioral deficits and image structure of the brain of the cholesterol feed rabbits via decreasing body weight, level of lipid in blood, amyloid-beta, acetyl-cholinesterase, and MDA level while increasing choline acetyltransferase and SOD levels in brain tissues [101].…”

Health Promoting Properties of Bee Royal Jelly: Food of the Queens

“…Therefore, a search for new therapies is required to mitigate the repercussions in the population. RJ has demonstrated its neuroprotective effects [ 150 , 151 , 152 , 153 ]. Recently, a study about the capacity of RJ to reduce cadmium-induced neuronal damage in vivo was carried out.…”