The ultrastructural and biochemical evidences of the beneficial effects of chronic caffeic acid phenethyl ester and melatonin administration on brain and cerebellum of aged rats

Nervous system is highly vulnerable to the deleterious effects of age-related oxidative stress. A large body of researches has consistently confirmed the implication of free radicals both in normal cerebral ageing and ageing-related pathologies. In the present study, in addition to the light and electron microscopic pictures of brain and cerebellum of young, old and antioxidant administered old Sprague-Dawley rats, pro-oxidant status was evaluated in terms of measurements of total glutathione, lipid peroxidation (malondialdehyde) and activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase and glutathione peroxidase. Taking the results together, we suggest that supplemental administration of caffeic acid phenethyl ester and melatonin is beneficial in delaying age-related cellular damage in nervous system.