The Effect of 3-Carene on Memory, Histological, and Biochemical Parameters in Male Wistar Alzheimer's Rats

Alzheimer's disease (AD), as the most common type of dementia, gradually leads to a decrease in memory, speech, and other cognitive skills that affect a person's ability to perform daily activities. With the increase in the incidence of this disease, especially in old ages, there is a need to identify factors and drugs for prevention or treatment. In the present study, the effect of 3-Carene was investigated on behavioral, biochemical and histological parameters in Alzheimer’s-induced Wistar male rats by beta-amyloid (Aβ42) injection. Forty two Wistar male rats were randomly assigned to 7 groups (n= 6 rats/group), including control group without any treatments; PBS group receiving phosphate buffer (Aβ42 solvent); AD group with Aβ42 injection into rats’ hippocampus; sham group receiving corn oil (3-Carene solvent); two treatment groups receiving 3-Carene at 200 and 400 μg/kg after being injected with Aβ42; the protective group receiving 3-Carene (400μg/kg) before beta-amyloid injection in a protective mode. The results demonstrated that 3-Carene improved the memory, lipid profile, amyloid plaques, and superoxide dismutase activity and malondialdehyde level, whereas Alzheimer’s-induced group showed impairment in all examined parameters. Protection with 3-Carene also demonstrated similar improvements against AD. Hence, 3-Carene has shown capability of improving the amyloid plaques, memory as well as biochemical factors associated with AD.