Resveratrol improves cognition and reduces oxidative stress in rats with vascular dementia

Resveratrol possesses beneficial biological effects, which include anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic properties. Recently, resveratrol has been shown to exhibit neuroprotective effects in models of Parkinson's disease, cerebral ischemia and Alzheimer's disease. However, its effects on vascular dementia remain unclear. The present study established a rat model of vascular dementia using permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion. At 8-12 weeks after model induction, rats were intragastrically administered 25 mg/kg resveratrol daily. Our results found that resveratrol shortened the escape latency and escape distances in the Morris water maze, and prolonged the time spent percentage and swimming distance percentage in the target quadrant during the probe test, indicating that resveratrol improved learning and memory ability in vascular dementia rats. Further experiments found that resveratrol decreased malonyldialdehyde levels, and increased superoxide dismutase activity and glutathione levels in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex of vascular dementia rats. These results confirmed that the neuroprotective effects of resveratrol on vascular dementia were associated with its anti-oxidant properties.