The effect of β-amyloid protein on the behaviors and SOD activity and MDA content of hippocampus in D-galactose-induced aging rats

AIM: To study the effect of β-amyloid protein (β-AP) and D-galactose(D-gal) on learning-memory and SOD activity and MDA content of hippocampus in rats. METHODS: The behaviors of rats were measured by using open field, Y-maze and one-trial passive avoidance response, and the content of SOD and MDA were measured. RESULTS: In the D-gal and D-gal+β-AP group rats, the spontaneous activities and responses to novel environment in the open field were significantly decreased, and the abilities of learning-memory were remarkably attenuated, the content of SOD decreased and MDA content increased markedly in hippocampus (P＜0.05 or P＜0.01 compared with N group). CONCLUSION: The combination of β-AP and D-gal enhanced the damage induced by free radical in hippocampus and decreased the learning-memory ability in rats.