Background. Silymarin, a polyphenolic flavonoid found in milk thistle, has been used to treat liver and brain injuries in humans and animals. The study aims to investigate the protective effects of silymarin on spatial and passive avoidance memory, oxidative stress, and inflammatory factors in the brain and liver tissues of ovariectomized (OVX) Wistar rats. Methods. The study involved 30 female Wistar rats divided into control, sham, and three silymarin-treated groups. After ovariectomy, rats underwent CT scan, and some of them were administered silymarin via gavage for 2 months. Memory and learning were assessed using Morris water maze and shuttle box tests. Brain and liver tissues were analyzed for inflammatory factors (IL-1β, TNFα, and IL-6) and oxidative stress markers (CAT, SOD, and MDA) after sacrifice. Results. Silymarin improved spatial memory and fear learning compared to the sham group ( to ). It also significantly reduced IL-1β, TNF-α, and IL-6 levels in the cortex, hippocampus, and liver ( to ) and increased CAT and SOD while decreasing MDA levels ( to ) compared to control and sham groups. Conclusion. Long-term administration of silymarin extract can improve learning and memory, reverse cognitive impairment caused by ovariectomy, and reduce oxidative stress and inflammatory factors induced by ovariectomy in the liver and brain of Wistar rats. This is due to the reduction in MDA levels and an increase in CAT activity, although silymarin has some effect on SOD at high doses.

中文翻译：

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水飞蓟素在减轻 Wistar 大鼠卵巢切除引起的炎症和认知障碍中的作用

背景。水飞蓟素是一种在水飞蓟中发现的多酚黄酮类化合物，已被用于治疗人类和动物的肝脏和脑损伤。该研究旨在探讨水飞蓟素对卵巢切除（OVX）Wistar 大鼠的空间和被动回避记忆、氧化应激以及大脑和肝脏组织中炎症因子的保护作用。方法。该研究涉及 30 只雌性 Wistar 大鼠，分为对照组、假手术组和三个水飞蓟素治疗组。卵巢切除后，对大鼠进行CT扫描，部分大鼠灌胃水飞蓟素2个月。使用莫里斯水迷宫和穿梭箱测试评估记忆和学习能力。处死后，分析脑和肝组织的炎症因子（IL-1β 、 TNFα和IL-6）和氧化应激标志物（CAT、SOD和MDA）。结果。与假手术组相比，水飞蓟素改善了空间记忆和恐惧学习能力（到）。它还显着降低了皮质、海马和肝脏中 IL-1β、TNF-α 和 IL-6的水平。到）并增加 CAT 和 SOD，同时降低 MDA 水平（到）与对照组和假手术组相比。结论。长期服用水飞蓟素提取物可以改善Wistar大鼠的学习记忆能力，逆转卵巢切除引起的认知障碍，减少卵巢切除引起的肝脏和大脑氧化应激和炎症因子。这是由于 MDA 水平降低和 CAT 活性增加所致，尽管高剂量的水飞蓟素对 SOD 有一定影响。