Abstract

Chronic alcohol consumption is a serious problem that can destroy brain structure and function and lead to cognitive decline. Brain-boosting supplements have gained popularity as a strategy to improve memory impairment, as well as cholinergic and oxidative stress. We aimed to evaluate the potency of lychee seed extract to combat the memory deficit in a rat model of alcoholism. Male rats were given 25% ethanol and administered orally with lychee seed extract (300 and 600 mg/kg/day) or donepezil (3 mg/kg/day) for 42 days. The object recognition and Morris water maze procedures were used to investigate memory performance. Brain oxidative markers, lipid peroxidation, and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity in both cortex and hippocampus of ethanol-treated rats were also determined. The continuous drinking of alcohol led to an induction in oxidative stress, and lipid peroxidation, and increased AChE activity resulted in a greater cognitive impairment. However, both doses of lychee seed extract were able to reduce AChE activity and increase brain antioxidant status, along with decreasing lipid peroxidation in both areas of the rat brain. Overall, lychee seed extract supplementation, a waste product from the direct consumption and fruit processing industry, reverses alcohol-induced memory decline via its antioxidative neuroprotection and inhibition of AChE activity.

Key words: Lychee seed, Alcoholism, Antioxidants, Cognition, Acetylcholinesterase