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Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe) ameliorates ethanol-induced cognitive impairment by modulating NMDA and GABA-A receptors in rat hippocampus

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Abstract

Brain damage caused by ethanol abuse may lead to permanent damage, including severe dementia. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of ginger powder on ethanol-induced cognitive disorders by examining oxidative damage and inflammation status, and the gene expression of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and γ-Aminobutyric acid (GABA)-A receptors in the hippocampus of male rats. 24 adult male Sprague–Dawley rats were allocated randomly to four groups as follows control, ethanol (4g/kg/day, by gavage), ginger (1g/kg/day, by gavage), and ginger-ethanol. At the end of the study, memory and learning were evaluated by the shuttle box test. Moreover, to explore mechanisms involved in ethanol-induced cognitive impairment and the protective effect of ginger, the expression of Nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), nuclear factor erythroid 2–related factor 2 (Nrf2), NMDA receptor, and GABA-A receptor was measured along with inflammatory and oxidative biomarkers in the hippocampus tissue. The results showed that ethanol could induce cognitive impairment in the ethanol group, while pretreatment with ginger could reverse it. The gene expression of the NF-κB/ Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α/Interleukin (IL)-1β pathway and NMDA and GABA-A receptors significantly increased in the ethanol group compared to the control group. While pretreatment with ginger could significantly improve ethanol-induced cognitive impairment through these pathways in the ginger-ethanol group compared to the ethanol group (P < 0.05). It can be concluded that ginger powder could ameliorate ethanol-induced cognitive impairment by modulating the expression of NMDA and GABA-A receptors and inhibiting oxidative damage and the NF-κB/TNF-α/IL-1β pathway in the rat hippocampus.

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The data used to support the findings of this study is available from the corresponding author upon request.

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Acknowledgements

This research project was performed at the Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, and was also supported by the scientific and research group affiliated with Dr. Abolfazl Akbari, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, and Xi’an Gaoxin Hospital.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan, 750000, China

    Jiaojiao Wang

  2. Department of Physiology, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Abolfazl Akbari

  3. Department of Biochemistry, School of Veterinary Medicine, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Marjan Chardahcherik

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, Xi’an Yanta Qiangsen Meilin Hospital, Xi’an, 710000, China

    Jun Wu

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  1. Jiaojiao Wang
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Contributions

JW: Resources, Methodology, Investigation. AA: Conceptualization, Project administration, Resources, Writing review & editing. MC: Methodology, Analysis, writing original draft, Writing review & editing. JW: Supervision, Resources, Writing review & editing. All the authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Jun Wu.

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This study was approved by the General Hospital of Ningxia Medical University animal ethical committee, Approved No. GHNMU2021-0518.

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Wang, J., Akbari, A., Chardahcherik, M. et al. Ginger (Zingiber Officinale Roscoe) ameliorates ethanol-induced cognitive impairment by modulating NMDA and GABA-A receptors in rat hippocampus. Metab Brain Dis 39, 67–76 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11011-023-01301-8

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