Abstract:
Age-related diseases, including dementia, are a major health concern affecting daily human life.
Strawberry (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) is the most eaten fruit worldwide due to its exceptional aroma and
flavor. However, it’s rapid softening and decay limit its shelf-life. Freezing and boiling represent the well-
known conservation methods to extend its shelf-life. Therefore, we aimed to discover the phytochemical
content differences of fresh and processed strawberries associated with investigating and comparing their
neuroprotective effects in a rat model of aging. Female Wistar rats were orally pretreated with fresh,
boiled, and frozen F. ananassa methanolic extracts (250 mg kg−1
) for 2 weeks, and then these extracts
were concomitantly exposed to D-galactose [65 mg kg−1
, subcutaneously (S/C)] and AlCl3 (200 mg kg−1
,
orally) for 6 weeks to develop aging-like symptoms. The results of UPLC/ESI-MS phytochemical profiling
revealed 36 secondary metabolites, including phenolics, flavonoids, and their glycoside derivatives.
Compared with boiled and frozen extracts, the fresh extract ameliorated the behavioral deficits including
anxiety and cognitive dysfunction, upregulated brain HO-1 and Nrf2 levels, and markedly reduced
caspase-3 and PPAR-γ levels. Moreover, LDH and miRNA-9, 124 and 132 protein expressions were
reduced. The histological architecture of the brain hippocampus was restored and glial fibrillary acidic
protein (GFAP) immunoexpression was downregulated. In conclusion, the fresh extract has neuroprotec-
tive activity that could have a promising role in ameliorating age-related neurodegeneration.
