Effect of vitamins c and e on memory in adult mice

Thesis Overview

<p> </p><p><strong>INTRODUCTION</strong></p><p>Vitamin C, also known as L-ascorbic acid, is a water-soluble vitamin that is naturally present in some foods, added to others, and available as a dietary supplement and is destroyed by heat or reduced by prolonged storage (Weinstein et al., 2001). Humans, unlike most animals, are unable to synthesize vitamin C endogenously, so it is an essential dietary component (Naidu, 2003; Li, 2007). Sex steroids are hormones produced mainly by the reproductive glands, either the ovaries or testes, which share a similar basic structure of three hexane rings and a pentane ring (Gasbarri, 2010). The primary role of the gonadal steroid hormones in mammals is to regulate reproduction and related behaviours; however, both androgens and estrogens are also integrally involved in mediating higher brain function and processes, including cognition, neural development and neural plasticity (Dohanich, 2002). The hippocampal system plays an important role in memory function. Neurohormones like androgens and oestrogens are present in the hippocampus and have important roles in learning and memory (Talebi et al., 2010). Oestrogens act on the central nervous system (CNS) both through genomic mechanisms, modulating synthesis, release and metabolism of neurotransmitters, neuropeptides and neurosteroids, and through non-genomic mechanisms, influencing electrical excitability, synaptic function and morphological features. Therefore, oestrogen’s neuroactive effects are multifaceted and encompass a system that ranges from the chemical to the biochemical to the genomic mechanisms, protecting against a wide range of neurotoxic insults (Genazzani et al., 2007).</p><p>Vitamin C, also known as ascorbic acid AA is required for the biosynthesis of collagen, L-carnitine, and certain neurotransmitters; vitamin C is also involved in protein metabolism (Carr and Frei, 1999). Collagen is an essential component of connective tissue, which plays a vital role in wound healing. Vitamin C is also an important physiological antioxidant (Carr and Frei, 1999) and has been shown to regenerate other antioxidants within the body, including alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) (Jacob, 2002). In addition to its biosynthetic and antioxidant functions, vitamin C plays an important role in immune function (Jacob, 2002) and improves the absorption of non-haeme iron, the form of iron present in plant-based foods. Insufficient vitamin C intake causes scurvy, which is characterized by fatigue or lassitude, widespread connective tissue weakness, and capillary fragility (Weinstein et al., 2001; Wang, 2007).</p><p>Vitamin E is a generic name for tocopherols and tocotrienols. It is a family of α, β, γ and δ tocopherols and corresponding tocotrienols. Tocopherol contains saturated phytol side chains and tocotrienol have 3 double bonds in the side chain (Blatt et al., 2001; Dietrich et al., 2006).</p> <br><p></p>