Abstract
Background: Vitamin D deficiency (VDD) is a crucial global health issue that causes increased oxidative stress (OS) and memory disorders. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of vitamin D (VD) and aerobic exercise (EXE) combination therapy on OS and memory impairment caused by maternal VDD in young female rats.
Methods: Forty female Wistar rats, aged 3 weeks and weighing 70±5 g, were divided into five groups. The Sham with a standard diet (SSD) group received a standard diet (SD) 6 weeks before mating until the end of lactation, and the VDD group consumed VDD a week before mating until the last day of lactation. The VDD+VD group received SD containing 1,000 IU/kg VD a week before mating until the end of lactation, and the VDD+EXE group received SD one week before mating until the last day of gestation and underwent treadmill exercise from a week before mating until gestational day 20. The last group received VDD+VD+EXE. Finally, spatial memory was assessed, and the animals were sacrificed on post-natal day 40. Left hippocampal OS status was evaluated using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results: Maternal VDD caused an elevation in hippocampal OS along with memory impairment (P < 0.05). Vitamin D supplementation and aerobic exercise, alone or in combination, improved memory performance in the T-maze and novel object recognition test tasks by reducing lipid peroxidation levels and increasing enzymatic antioxidant activity in the hippocampus (P < 0.05).
Conclusion: The findings indicated that vitamin D supplementation and aerobic exercise can effectively reduce the amount of OS and thus improve the level of memory in rats.