Effect of Soybean Isoflavone on Acetylcholine Metabolism in Rats with Alzheimer's Disease

Objective To observe the effect of soybean isoflavone(SIF) on acetylcholine(ACh) metabolism in the hippocampus of rats with Alzheimer's disease(AD),and to investigate the mechanism by which SIF exerts therapeutic effect on AD.MethodsFifty rats were randomly divided into sham operation group,model group,estradiol valerate group,high-dose SIF group,and low-dose SIF group.A rat model of AD was induced by injecting amyloid β-protein into the bilateral hippocampus.The rats received their respective treatments for 21 days.The learning and memory ability of the rats was observed by Morris water maze test.The expression of ACh,choline acetyltransferase(ChAT),and acetylcholinesterase(AChE) in the hippocampus of rats was evaluated by immunohistochemistry SP method.ResultsSIF could significantly shorten escape latent period(P0.01),as well as significantly increase swimming time percentage,frequency of platform crossings,and expression of ACh,ChAT,AChE in the hippocampus(P0.05 or P0.01).ConclusionSIF may improve the learning and memory ability by enhancing ACh metabolism in the hippocampus.