The Effect of Royal Jelly on Depression and Anxiety in an Animal Model of Alzheimer's Disease

Royal Jelly (RJ) may exert positive effects on the function of the central nervous system. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effect of RJ on depression and anxiety in trimethyltin (TMT)-induced Alzheimerchr('39')s disease (AD) model in rats.

32 rats were randomly divided into four groups; healthy (HC), AD, sham (SH), and RJ-treated. Forced Swimming Test (FST) for depression and Elevated Plus-Maze (EPM) for anxiety assessment were performed. Gene expression in the samples was measured using Real-Time PCR.

The dependent variable of immobility significantly increased in the AD group compared to the HC and RJ groups. Furthermore, the SH group has shown greater immobility than the HC group.  The antioxidant indexes of superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were significantly greater in the RJ group compared to the SH and AD groups. These indexes were also higher in the HC group than in the SH and AD groups. The RJ and HC groups exhibited a significant reduction in anxiety behaviours compared to the other groups.

RJ supplementation has the ability to modulate the mood in the TMT model of AD in rats and may exert beneficial effects in the treatment of AD.