Avaliação do kefir de leite em Drosophila melanogaster modelo da Doença de Alzheimer

Abstract

Alzheimer's Disease (A.D.) is a neurodegenerative disease, characterized by behavioral, cognitive and motor changes with broad life quality impact. It is characterized by neurofibrillary tangles and senile plaques in high density - and recent studies show that oxidative and inflammatory processes play a role in its development. There is an urge to discover new compounds to fight A.D. and natural extracts with anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory characteristics are promising. Kefir has this profile: it is a probiotic with known pharmacological activities, especially as an apoptosis inductor in cancer cells. Its effect can be tested through assays using model organisms like Drosophila melanogaster - which has a short life cycle, low cost and shows complex behaviours related to age like memory and motor ability. Beyond that, it is possible to obtain transgenic strains that mimic the amyloidogenic pathway and its response to treatments. In this study, we investigated kefir effects on A.D. using D. melanogaster as a model organism. To do so, both its locomotory activity and survival rate was evaluated after treatment. Even though A.D. models did not show an improvement of locomotory activity after treatment with kefir, it's survival was improved - which suggests a beneficial potential of this compost.