Faculty of Food and Life Technology, Pukyong National University, Pusan 608-737, Korea. Correspondence to: Jin-Ho Choi, Faculty of Food Science and Biotechnology, Pukyong National University; 599-1 Daeyeon-Dong, Nam-Gu, Pusan 608-737, Korea; Tel: 82-51-620-6332; Fax: 82-51-628-6343; E-Mail: jhchoi@ dolphin.pknu.ac.kr.

Abstract: This study was to evaluate the effect of dietary restriction (DR) on lifespan and oxidative stress of dementia mouse model SAMP8 with impaired learning and memory. SAMP8 female mice were fed either ad libitum (AL) or fed 60% of food intake of AL. Results showed that basal metabolic rates (BMR) were significantly lower (15 to 22%) in DR with increased median and maximum lifespans, suggesting feed and gross efficiencies were significantly lower in DR than in AL. Grading score of senescence resulted in a marked improvement about 2-fold by DR compared with AL. The amounts of lipofuscin at 12 months were significantly lowered 16% in DR than that of AL. Median and maximal lifespans significantly increased (28.5% and 16.4%, respectively) by DR, and also lowered superoxide radical about 15~45% in DR compared with AL at 4, 8 and 12 months of age. On the other hand, superoxide dismutase (SOD) activities were higher (about 15~30%) in DR than those in AL group of SAMP8 except for 4 months of age. Our results suggest that 40% calorie restricted SAMP8 can effectively suppress dementia-related abnormalities during aging.

Key words: dementia, dietary restriction, lifespan, oxidative stress