Tahereh Alihosseini - Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, lam Iran
Monireh Azizi - Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, lam Iran
Naser Abbasi - Biotechnology and Medicinal Plants Research Center, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam, Iran
Shahram Mohammadpour - Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, lam Iran
Maryam Bagheri - Department of Physiology, School of Medicine, Ilam University of Medical Sciences, Ilam Iran

Objective(s): Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the most common cause of dementia, is one of the leading causes of morbidity and death in the world. Currently, treatment mostly used to slow down the disease progression. Herbal remedies are considered by many in the community as a natural and safe treatment with fewer side effects. Silibinin, the active ingredient of Silybum marionum, has anti-oxidant, neurotrophic and neuroprotective characteristics. Therefore, here, the effect of different doses of Silibinin extract on oxidative stress and expression of neurotrophic factors was investigated. Materials and Methods: Forty eight male Wistar rats were randomly divided into sham, lesion; Aβ۱-۴۰ injection, lesion-treatment; Aβ۱-۴۰ injection followed by different doses of silibinin (۵۰, ۱۰۰, ۲۰۰ mg / kg) through gavage and lesion-vehicle group; Aβ۱-۴۰ injection + vehicle of silibinin. Morris water Maze (MWM) was done ۲۸ days after the last treatment. Hippocampal tissue was removed for biochemical analysis. Production of nitric oxide (NO) and reactive oxygen species (ROS), expression of BDNF/VEGF and cell viability were measured using Griess, fluorimetry, Western blotting and MTT techniques.  Results: Different concentrations of silibinin improved behavioral performance in animals. Higher doses of Silibinin could improve memory and learning function through MWM. Also, increasing the concentration of silibinin resulted in decreased ROS and NO production in a dose-dependent manner.Conclusion: Consequently, silibinin may act as a potential candidate for alleviating symptoms of AD.

Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid, BDNF, Oxidative stress, Silibinin, VEGF