Vol. 7, Issue 2, Part A (2025)

Background: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder influenced by environmental and genetic factors. It is primarily characterized by beta-amyloid plaque accumulation, synaptic dysfunction, and cognitive decline. Despite existing pharmacological therapies, there is no definitive cure for AD, prompting growing interest in natural compounds with antioxidant and neuroprotective potential that may also influence systemic physiological responses.
Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the therapeutic potential of gum Arabic and Fenchol in a rat model of Alzheimer’s disease induced by aluminum chloride (AlCl₃), with a particular focus on assessing red blood cell (RBC) count as a peripheral hematological indicator of neurodegeneration and treatment efficacy.
Methods: Thirty-six adult male rats were randomly assigned to six groups: (1) a negative control group receiving standard feed and water, (2) a positive control group treated orally with AlCl₃ (17 mg/kg/day), (3) a group treated post-induction with Fenchol (2 mL, 5 mg/80 mL), (4) a group treated with gum Arabic (2 mL, 10 g/100 mL), (5) a group receiving a combination of Fenchol and gum Arabic, and (6) a memantine-treated group (2 mL, 1.57 g/25 mL). After one month of treatment, red blood cell counts were analyzed to evaluate systemic hematological responses.
Results: The positive control group (G2) exhibited a marked reduction in RBC count (7.00±0.40 million/μL), significantly lower than all other groups (p = 0.000). Treatment with Fenchol (G3) and gum Arabic (G4) led to significant increases in RBC levels (8.50±0.30 and 8.80±0.30 million/μL, respectively). The combination group (G5) and memantine group (G6) showed the highest RBC counts (9.20±0.20 and 9.00±0.30 million/μL, respectively), comparable to the negative control (G1, 9.00±0.30 million/μL). ANOVA revealed highly significant differences among groups (p<0.00001), with LSD post hoc tests confirming the therapeutic superiority of all treatments over the positive control. The progressive restoration of RBC counts across treated groups may reflect systemic recovery and mitigation of oxidative or inflammatory damage associated with AlCl₃-induced neurotoxicity.
Conclusion: Gum Arabic and Fenchol demonstrated promising systemic protective effects in AlCl₃-induced Alzheimer’s disease, as evidenced by significant restoration of red blood cell counts. These findings suggest that RBC count may serve as a valuable peripheral biomarker for assessing disease severity and therapeutic efficacy in neurodegenerative models. Further research is warranted to explore the mechanistic link between neurodegeneration and hematological alterations.