Figure 5.

Dietary supplementation with a lipid extract of Sargassum fusiforme reduces cognitive decline and Aβ plaque load in APPswePS1ΔE9 mice. (a,b) A Sargassum fusiforme lipid extract was administered by gavage to determine the impact of Sargassum fusiforme-derived lipids on working memory in the spatial alteration Y maze. All mice showed an intact working memory at baseline ((a), spatial alteration > 50% (chance level); WT control p = 0.0002; WT Sargassum fusiforme p = 0.0008; AD control p < 0.0001, AD Sargassum fusiforme p = 0.0006, one-sample t-test). Upon six weeks of daily treatment (b), the untreated AD group displayed an impaired working memory (p = 0.085) while wild type mice and Sargassum fusiforme extract-treated mice retained their working memory (WT control p < 0.0001, WT Sargassum fusiforme p = 0.0018, AD Sargassum fusiforme p = 0.0008, one-sample t-test). (c,d) The extract-treated APPswePS1ΔE9 mice show a significant decrease in formic acid-extracted insoluble Aβ₄₂ levels in the cortex ((c); U = 0, n_ctrl = 8, n_extract = 8, p = 0.0045, Mann-Whitney) and in the hippocampus ((d); U = 3; n_ctrl = 7, n_extract = 5, p = 0.0177, Mann-Whitney). (e–g) Mice treated with a lipid extract of Sargassum fusiforme show an increased mRNA (e) expression of ApoE in their CNS (F (1, 18) = 4.885, p = 0.0403, two-way ANOVA), although the increase in protein expression (f,g) does not reach significance. Data are shown as mean ± SEM.