The Effect of Cineole on Biochemical, Behavioral and Histological Parameters in Alzheimer’s Male Wistar Rat Model

The Alzheimer’s disease is one of the neurodegenerative diseases affecting many individuals around the world with no definitive cure. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of cineole, as a natural antioxidant, on the behavioral, biochemical, and histological symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease in Wistar rats. Thirty-six male Wistar rats were randomly assigned to six groups. The control group underwent any surgery with no special treatment. The other groups underwent surgery and were assigned to four beta-amyloid groups: one group receiving PBS (beta-amyloid solvent); the sham group was treated with tween 80 (cineole solvent) and the two experimental groups were treated with cineole at 0.02 and 0.04 mg/kg doses. The control group, the Alzheimer’s group and the PBS group did not receive any treatments. Finally, behavioral (Shuttle box), biochemical (malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase, TNF-α) and histological parameters (H&E and Thioflavine S staining) were investigated. In Alzheimer’s-induced rats, the time it took for the rats to go to the dark part of the shuttle box was significantly (p < 0.001) shorter than that of the control group. The levels of malondialdehyde and TNF-α in these rats were significantly increased and the level of superoxide dismutase was significantly decreased compared to the control group (p < 0.001). Furthermore, histological studies showed that in Alzheimer’s-induced rats, neuronal cell death occurred extensively in the hippocampus and amyloid plaques increased. Treatment of rats with cineole improved all of the investigated parameters significantly in a dose-dependent manner. Cineole may be used as a suitable natural antioxidant to treat Alzheimer’s disease and reduce its symptoms, requiring further research.