X-Message-Number: 27979
Date: Tue, 23 May 2006 05:23:15 -0700 (PDT)
From: Doug Skrecky <>
Subject: spinach inhibits TNF-a, brain aging

[One has to feel sorry for all those animals fed standard chow, with no
additions.]

J Neurosci. 2002 Jul 15;22(14):5813-6.
Eighteen-month-old Fischer 344 rats fed a spinach-enriched diet show
improved delay classical eyeblink conditioning and reduced expression of
tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha ) and TNFbeta in the cerebellum.
  Diets high in antioxidant properties are known to reverse some deficits
in neuronal and cognitive function that occur in aging
animals. Antioxidants are also known to reduce levels of proinflammatory
factors in the CNS. We report here that 6 weeks of a spinach-enriched
diet ameliorates deficits in cerebellar-dependent delay classical eyeblink
learning and reduces the proinflammatory cytokines tumor necrosis factor
alpha (TNFalpha) and TNFbeta in the cerebelli of eyeblink-trained
animals. Eighteen-month-old Fischer 344 rats were given spinach-enriched
lab chow or regular lab chow for 6 weeks. The rats were then given 6 d of
30 trials per day training using a 3 kHz tone conditioned stimulus and
airpuff unconditioned stimulus. Rats were killed 3 weeks after eyeblink
training. Cytokine expression was measured using RNase protection assay
analysis in the eyeblink-trained animals and in a group of young control
animals given regular lab chow diet. Old animals on the spinach-enriched
lab chow diet learned delay eyeblink conditioning significantly faster
than old animals on the regular diet. Cerebelli from older animals on the
spinach-enriched diet had significantly less TNFalpha and
TNFbeta than cerebelli from older animals on the control diet.

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