neuroprotective effects of herbal extract (r. canina, t. vulgare and u. dioica) on rat model of sporadic alzheimer’s disease

sporadic alzheimer’s disease (sad) is affected by genetic risk factors, aging and oxidative stresses. the herbal extract of r. canina, t. vulgare and u. dioica has a beneficial role in aging, as an anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative agent. we investigate the neuroprotective effects of this herbal extract in the rat model of sad.  the rats were divided into control, sham, model, herbal extract -treated and ethanol-treated groups. drug interventions were started on the 21st day after modeling and each treatment group was given the drugs by intraperitoneal (i.p.) for 21 days. the expression levels of the five important genes for pathogenesis of sad including syp, psen1, mapk3, map2 and tnf-α were measured by qpcr between the hippocampus of sad model which were treated by this herbal extract and control groups. the morris water maze was adapted to test spatial learning and memory ability of the rats.   treatment of the rat model of sad with herbal extract induced a significant change in expression of syp (p=0.001) and psen1 (p=0.029). in morris water maze, significant disturbed changes in spatial learning that was seen in the rat model group were improved in herbal-treated group.   this herbal extract could have anti-dementia properties and improve spatial learning and memory in sad model rats.