Protective effect of rutin against spatial memory impairment induced by trimethyltin in rats

Rutin is a flavonoid with various biological activities that are beneficial to human health. Trimethyltin is a toxic organotin compound, and rats injected with trimethyltin serve as a useful in vivo model for studying spatial memory impairment and neurodegeneration in the hippocampus. The protective effect of rutin against the trimethyltin-induced spatial memory impairment and hippocampal neuron damage in rats was examined. Peroral administration of a single dose of trimethyltin (8.5 mg/kg) induced spatial memory loss and the extensive loss of CA3 pyramidal neurons in hippocampi, as indicated by the results of a Morris water maze task and histologic examination, respectively. Prolonged supplementation of rutin significantly reversed the trimethyltin-induced spatial memory impairment and the damage to pyramidal neurons in the hippocampal CA3b region, indicating an antioxidative effect of rutin. These results suggest that rutin in the diet may provide a protective effect against spatial memory impairment accompanied by hippocampal pyramidal neuron loss.