Research ReportAnti-oxidative nutrient rich diet protects against acute ischemic brain damage in rats

•We evaluated an anti-oxidative nutrient-rich enteral diet in a rat MCAO model.•Motor function and cerebral infarction volume were improved.•Peroxidative markers and inflammatory markers were reduced.•Anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms of the diet protected neurons.

We evaluated the neuroprotective effects of an anti-oxidative nutrient rich enteral diet (AO diet) that contained rich polyphenols (catechins and proanthocyanidins) and many other anti-oxidative ingredients. Wistar rats were treated with either vehicle, normal AO diet (containing 100 kcal/100 mL, catechin 38.75 mg/100 mL and proanthocyanidin 19 mg/100 mL, 1 mL/day), or high AO diet (containing 10 times the polyphenols of the normal AO diet) for 14 days, and were subjected to 90 min of transient middle cerebral artery occlusion. The AO diet improved motor function, reduced cerebral infarction volume, and decreased both peroxidative markers such as 4-hydroxynonenal, advanced glycation end products, 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine and inflammatory markers such as monocyte chemotactic protein-1, ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule-1, and tumor necrosis factor-α. Our study has shown that an AO diet has neuroprotective effects through both anti-oxidative and anti-inflammatory mechanisms, indicating that nutritional control with polyphenols could be useful for patients with acute ischemic stroke.