Antioxidant effect of crocin on scopolamine-induced memory deficits and oxidative stress in experimental animal model

El-Baga, Safinaz E.; Awadalla, Eatemad Ahmed; Hassan‬, ‪Mohammed H; Abdelkader, Abdelkader Mohamed

doi:10.21608/aujes.2025.378456.1338

Antioxidant effect of crocin on scopolamine-induced memory deficits and oxidative stress in experimental animal model

Document Type : Original Research

Authors

¹ Zoology department, Faculty of Science, Aswan University, 81582 Aswan, Egypt

² Zoology Dep. , Faculty of Science, Aswan University, Aswan, Egypt

³ Department of Medical Biochemistry Faculty of Medicine South Valley University Egypt

⁴ Professor of Neurophysiology, Zoology Department, Faculty of Science, Aswan University

10.21608/aujes.2025.378456.1338

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD), a term of neurodegenerative diseases that has characteristic clinical and pathological symptoms. Numerous studies have found that using natural products as expected treatments for neurodegeneration has health-promoting properties. Natural substances are thought to offer distinct biological properties. Crocin, a bioactive component of Crocus satives, has a variety of therapeutic effects on the brain. This study aims to investigate whether pre- and/or post-treatment with crocin is sufficient to slow down or halt the progression of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Fifty-six adult male rats were divided into seven groups: control, crocin (50mg/kg), crocin (Cr) (50mg/kg) + scopolamine (Sc) (3mg/kg), scopolamine (Sc) (3mg/kg), scopolamine (Sc) (3mg/kg) + memantine (M) (10mg/kg M), scopolamine (Sc) (3mg/kg Sc) + crocin (Cr) (50mg/kg), and scopolamine (Sc)+ memantine (M) + crocin (Cr) (3 mg/kg, 10 mg/kg and 50mg/kg, respectively). AD rats exhibited an obvious rise in lipid peroxidation (LPO) levels and a significant decline in superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT) activity in the homogenate of the brain hippocampus. Pre- and/or post-treatment of crocin exhibited a significant decline in LPO and a noticeable rise in SOD and CAT. Additionally, Bielshowsky silver stain showed an increase in tau protein deposition in section of scopolamine group, whereas treatment with crocin, memantine and their combination revealed a reduction in tau depositions. The perception that Alzheimer's disease (AD) is pharmacologically unresponsive is gradually shifting. Emerging evidence suggests that treatment with crocin –either alone or in combination with memantine – can lead to improvements in the symptoms of this debilitating condition.

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