Abstract

The protective effect of nano-wheat germ (NWG) and nano-rice bran (NRB) was evaluated in Alzheimer's like disease (AD) model associated with dyslipidemia in rats. Both NWG and NRB were analyzed for phenolic compounds, fatty acids, tocopherols and B-vitamins. Plasma lipid profile and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE), brain oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers as well as nutritional parameters were assessed. The results showed linoleic acid as the major fatty acid while linolenic acid was < 7% of total fatty acids. Alpha, gamma and delta tocopherols were present in both powders; the alpha form was of the highest level. Ferulic, sinapic and vanillic were the predominant phenolic acids while rutin and kaempherol were the major flavonoids in both powders. Animal experiment showed induction of significant dyslipidemia and elevation of plasma BChE and brain oxidative stress and inflammatory biomarkers in AD control rats with associated dyslipidemia (AD-DL) compared to normal control. Body weight and food intake were reduced significantly in AD-DL rats compared to normal control. When AD rats were fed on dyslipidemic diet supplemented with 30% of either NWG or NRB; all the studied biochemical and nutritional parameters showed significant improvement with different degrees compared to AD-DL control. NWG powder was more promising than NRB.

Key words: Alzheimer's like model; nano-wheat germ; nano-rice bran; brain biochemistry; butyrylcholinesterase; food chemistry.