Amelioration of cognitive impairment and neurodegeneration by catechin hydrate in rat model of streptozotocin-induced experimental dementia of Alzheimer’s type

► ICV-STZ injection in rats induces cognitive impairment and oxidative stress. ► Oxidative stress initiates inflammatory response following STZ administration. ► Catechin hydrate mitigates STZ-induced memory loss and oxidative stress. ► Catechin hydrate pretreatment limits the inflammatory responses. Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting in cognitive decline and enhancement of oxidative loads in the brain. Flavonoids have been considered to exert human health benefits by anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. The present study is aimed to elucidate the neuroprotective effect of catechin hydrate (CH), a natural flavanoid with potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties, on intracerebroventricular streptozotocin (ICV-STZ) induced neuronal loss and memory impairment. To test this hypothesis, male Wistar rats were pretreated with CH (10 and 20mg/kgbwt) orally once daily for 21days and then bilaterally injected with ICV-STZ (3mg/kgbwt), while sham group rats receive the same volume of vehicle. After 2weeks of ICV-STZ infusion, rats were tested for cognitive performance using Morris water maze (MWM) test and then sacrifice for biochemical and histopathological assays. CH was found to be successful in upregulating the antioxidant status and prevented the memory loss. The expression of choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) was decreased in ICV-STZ group and CH pretreatment increases the expression of ChAT. Moreover, inflammatory mediators like TNF-α, IL-1β levels and expression of iNOS were significantly attenuated by CH pretreatment. The study suggests that CH is effective in preventing memory loss, ameliorating the oxidative stress and might be beneficial for the treatment of sporadic dementia of Alzheimer’s type (SDAT).