Yafteh

Background : Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion (CCH) is a common pathophysiological state that generally happens in conditions such as Alzheimer and vascular dementia, which both of them are known by cognitive impairment. The recognition of particular mechanisms in the chain of events from CCH to a cognitive deficit may identify potential targets for efficient therapies. The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of olive leaf extract, with regarding the antioxidant and antiinflammation effects of extract, on corticostreon and dehyroepiandrestrone (DHEA) after the induction of cerebral hypoperfusion in rats.

Materials and Methods: Wistar rats were divided into five groups of control, hypoperfusion, (hypoperfusion + 100 mg/kg extract), (hypoperfusion +200mg/kg) and ( hypoperfusion + 300mg/kg).In the hypoperfusion groups both common carotids were permanently occluded (with one week interval). Surgery without occlusion of the carotid was applied on the control. Olive leaf extracts with dosages 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg was given to the animals by gavage technique for 25 days. Then blood samples were taken and the serum concentration of corticostrone and DHEA were measured by ELISA method.

Results: In comparison with the control group, there was a significant reduction in corticostrone concentration in hypoperfusion group but olive leaf extract with 300mg/kg dosage, succeeded in abolishing the reduction. The significant differences in DHEA concentration was not observed among treated groups.

Conclusion: In this study, the olive leaf extract succeeded in elevating of corticostrone concentration which was reduced by hypopefusion, this study showed the protective effects of olive leaf extracts on hypothalamus – hypophysis –adrenal axis, since the extract has wide useful effects, we suggest it’s effective components to be separately examined to find the exact mechanism.