Beta-Cryptoxanthin, Plentiful in Japanese Mandarin Orange, Prevents Age-Related Cognitive Dysfunction and Oxidative Damage in Senescence-Accelerated Mouse Brain

• Published in: Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 311 - 317
• Main Authors: Unno, Keiko, Sugiura, Minoru, Ogawa, Kazunori, Takabayashi, Fumiyo, Toda, Masateru, Sakuma, Midori, Maeda, Ken-ichi, Fujitani, Keisuke, Miyazaki, Hideaki, Yamamoto, Hiroyuki, Hoshino, Minoru
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Japan The Pharmaceutical Society of Japan 2011; Pharmaceutical Society of Japan; Japan Science and Technology Agency
• Subjects: Age; Aging; Aging - physiology; Animals; Antioxidants; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Antioxidants - therapeutic use; Brain; Brain - drug effects; Brain - physiology; Citrus; Citrus - chemistry; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognition Disorders - prevention & control; Cognitive ability; Cortex; Cryptoxanthins; DNA; DNA Damage; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Drinking water; Frontal lobe; Fruit; Fruits; Juices; Learning; Learning - drug effects; Life span; Longevity - drug effects; Male; mandarin orange; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; oxidative damage; Oxidative stress; Oxidative Stress - drug effects; Oxidative Stress - physiology; Phytotherapy; Plant Preparations - pharmacology; Plant Preparations - therapeutic use; senescence-accelerated mouse; superoxide anions; Survival; Xanthophylls - pharmacology; Xanthophylls - therapeutic use; β-cryptoxanthin
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.34.311

Increased oxidative stress is known to accelerate age-related pathologies. Beta-cryptoxanthin (β-CRX, (3R)-β,β-caroten-3-ol) is a potent antioxidant that is highly rich in Satsuma mandarin orange (mandarin), which is the most popular fruit in Japan. We investigated the antioxidative and anti-aging effects of β-CRX and mandarin using senescence-accelerated mice (SAMP10), which were characterized by a short lifespan, high generation of superoxide anions in the brain and poor learning ability with aging. β-CRX (0.5—5.0 μg/ml) or mandarin juice (3.8—38.0%) was added to drinking water of SAMP10 one to 12 months of age. β-CRX was dose-dependently incorporated into the cerebral cortex and the contents were similar to the concentration of β-CRX in the human frontal lobe. These mice also had higher learning ability. The level of DNA oxidative damage was significantly lower in the cerebral cortex of mice that ingested β-CRX and mandarin than control mice. In addition, the mice that ingested β-CRX (>1.5 μg/ml) and mandarin (>11.3%) exhibited a higher survival when 12 month-old, the presenile age of SAMP10, than control mice. These results suggest that β-CRX is incorporated into the brain and has an important antioxidative role and anti-aging effect.