Protective effects of selenium-enriched peptides from Cardamine violifolia on d-galactose-induced brain aging by alleviating oxidative stress, neuroinflammation, and neuron apoptosis

Abstract

Oxidative stress is closely associated with aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases and plays a vital function in their initiation and progression. Selenium-enriched peptides from Cardamine violifolia (CSP) had excellent antioxidant function in vitro, however, whether it has an effect on aging is still unknown. In this study, the results revealed that CSP supplementation could ameliorate d-galactose (d-gal) induced metabolism disorder, memory dysfunction, and neuron damage in the hippocampus. Moreover, CSP alleviated ROS and MDA levels by increasing the activities of SOD, GSH-Px, CAT, and TAOC, and activate the Nrf2/HO-1/NQO1 pathway, which probably represents an anti-aging mechanism of CSP. Furthermore, CSP reduced the neuro-inflammation by inhibiting the NF-κB pathway in d-gal induced aging rats and suppressed RAGE and P-JNK signaling pathway. Altogether, the study firstly demonstrated the favorable effects of CSP against brain aging, which can be further developed as a promising strategy to prevent or treat age-related neurodegenerative diseases.