# Impact of daily administration of blackberry extract on gerbil model of transient cerebral ischemia

## TL;DR

Daily blackberry extract intake may help protect against brain damage from temporary blood flow blockage in gerbils.

## Contribution

The study shows that pre-administration of blackberry extract can protect neurons during transient cerebral ischemia in gerbils.

## Key findings

- Pre-ischemia BBE administration preserved neuron counts similar to the control group.
- Post-ischemia BBE administration significantly reduced neuron counts compared to the control.
- Continuous BBE intake may help prevent or reduce ischemic brain damage.

## Abstract

Blackberries are rich in polyphenols and are a human health food continuously consumed to improve health and reduce diseases caused by aging. Herein, we evaluated the effects of daily blackberry administration before and after transient cerebral ischemia in gerbils.

Blackberry extract (BBE) was orally administered twice a day for two weeks to protect against ischemic events during continuous administration. On the seventh day after administration, the bilateral common carotid arteries were transiently occluded for 5 min. To verify its therapeutic effect, BBE was administered after ischemia using a similar protocol without pre-administration. In both experiments, the number of viable neurons in the CA1 region of the hippocampus was assessed seven days after ischemic treatment.

The number of neurons in the group treated with BBE before ischemia was higher than that in the group treated with distilled water (p = 0.0601), and similar to that in the control group. In the BBE administration experiments after ischemia, the number of neurons was significantly reduced compared to that in the control group (p < 0.0001).

Continuous BBE intake is expected to prevent or ameliorate ischemic events such as transient cerebral ischemia.