Alpha lipoic acid reverses scopolamine-induced spatial memory loss and pyramidal cell neurodegeneration in the prefrontal cortex of Wistar rats

Neurodegenerative disorders are linked to oxidative tissue damage characterized by gradual loss of cognitive functions and neuronal cells. Alpha-lipoic acid (AHA) has a strong antioxidant property. Scopolamine is an anti-muscarinic agent used to study the mechanism of memory loss in an animal model. This study is aimed at evaluating the antioxidant role of alpha lipoic acid in reversing scopolamine induced memory loss and neurodegenerative process in the prefrontal cortex of Wistar rats. Twenty adult male Wistar rats used were divided into four groups (n = 5): Group 1 received vehicle (Control), Group 2 had scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p) for 4 days, Group 3 received AHA (200 mg/kg, p.o) for 10 days while Group 4 were pretreated with scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p) for 4 days followed by oral administration of 200 mg/kg of AHA for 10 days. The rats were subjected to Y-maze test to assess their spatial memory. The rats were euthanized, the prefrontal area was excised and fixed in 10% formol-calcium and processed for Haematoxylin and Eosin, Cresyl fast violet for Nissl Bodies (Ribosome), and Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein (GFAP) stains. Scopolamine caused a significant decline in spatial working memory, prefrontal neuron cell loss, and increased proliferation of reactive astrocytes (astrogliosis) when compared with the control and AHA treated group. AHA process of reversing scopolamine-induced memory deficit, prefrontal neuron cell loss, and generation of reactive astrocytes (astrogliosis) is mediated by its antioxidant mediated positive modulation of astrocyte-neuronal interaction during neuroinflammation in response to oxidative tissue damage.