Dietary consumption of desert olive tree pearls reduces brain Aβ content and improves learning and memory ability in aged mice

[Display omitted] •Desert Olive Tree Pearls (DOTP)-treatment showed neuroprotective effect against Aβ42-induced neuronal cell death.•DOTP improves spatial learning and memory in aged mice.•Oral administration of DOTP reduces the content of Aβ42 in limbic system of aged mice brain.•Oral administration of DOTP showed the reduction of inflammatory cytokines in serum and limbic system of aged mice. Recently, the number of patients with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), has increased with aging of the population. Desert Olive Tree Pearls (DOTP), one of the olive oil products rich in functional compounds such as polyphenols is considered to have beneficial effect on neuronal activities. In this study, our study showed that pre-treatment of SH-SY5Y cells with DOTP ameliorated Aβ-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, the Morris water maze test indicated that DOTP improves learning and memory in aged mice. Also, DOTP induced a decrease in Aβ42 and inflammatory cytokine levels and increase in neurotransmitter levels in limbic system and serum of aged mice. These results suggest that DOTP may have anti-oxidative effects and decreased oxidative stress associated with overproduction of pro-inflammatory cytokines in Aβ accumulations by aging, thus protecting neurons. Generally, the results of the present study suggest that DOTP is a promising dietary ingredient for improvement of cognitive function.