Abstract
The phytogenic flavanol component of the plant Rhus verniciflua Stokes is fustin which is implicated in various disease aliments and has promising therapeutic efficacy and a long history of its uses in the Indian medicinal system. The present study investigated the ameliorative effect of fustin in streptozotocin (STZ) induced cognitive impairments in the diabetic animal paradigm. A total of five different animal groups were used for the present study.The preclinical efficacy of fustin at 50 mg/kg and 100 mg/kg was studied in diabetic male rats by employing a 35-day study design. In the present investigation the Morris water maze test (MWM) and elevated plus maze (EPM) test were employed as behavioral paradigms for the assessment of memory impairments. The study design also carried out certain biochemical parameters which include glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase activity (CAT), malondialdehyde (MDA), nitric oxide (NO), relative interleukin-6 (IL-6), and IL-1B in samples obtained from cerebral cortex and hippocampus. The behavioral parameters with MWM and EPM were significant restored in fustin treatment groups as compared to elevated levels in the diabetic control group. Furthermore, fustin significantly improved the altered levels of several biochemical parameters for cognitive dysfunction such as GSH, SOD, CAT, MDA, NO, and relative IL-6 and IL-1B compared to a diabetic control group. The present investigation highlights certain preclinical pieces of evidence that strongly indicate that fustin might restore the normal cognitive function in the experimental animal paradigm.