Alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) is a major precursor of the essential n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA), whose deficiency alters the structure and function of membranes and induces cerebral dysfunctions. The major purpose of this study was to investigate the protective effect of prolonged ALA intake on cognitive function during natural aging. Female Sprague-Dawley rats aged 6 months were chronically treated with ALA and/or lard per day for 12 months. Regular diet-treated rats, both young and old (4 and 18 months old, respectively) served as controls. Rats fed on regular diet during aging showed memory deficits in Morris water maze, which were further exacerbated by lard intake. However, supplementation with ALA for 12 months dose-dependently improved the performance in spatial working memory tasks. Memory performance correlated well with the activation of cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and increases in both levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its specific receptor tyrosine kinase B (TrkB) phosphorylation in the hippocampus. Further study identified that hippocampal extracellular signal-related kinase (ERK) and Akt rather than calcium calmodulin kinase IV (CaMKIV) and protein kinase A (PKA), the upstream signalings of CREB, were also activated by ALA supplement. Moreover, memory improvement was accompanied with alterations of hippocampal synaptic structure and number, suggestive of enhancement in synaptic plasticity. Together, these results suggest that long-term dietary intake of ALA enhances CREB/BDNF/TrkB pathway through the activation of ERK and Akt signalings in hippocampus, which contributes to its ameliorative effects on cognitive deficits in natural aging.
Keywords: ALA; Aging; CREB/BDNF/TrkB; Cognition.