Rosuvastatin ameliorates cognitive impairment in rats fed with high-salt and cholesterol diet via inhibiting acetylcholinesterase activity and amyloid beta peptide aggregation.

Amyloid beta (Aβ) peptide aggregation and cholinergic neurodegeneration are involved in the development of cognitive impairment. Therefore, in this article, we examined rosuvastatin (RSV), an oral hypolipidemic drug, to determine its potential as a dual inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and Aβ peptide aggregation for the treatment of cognitive impairment. Molecular docking study was done to examine the affinity of RSV with Aβ1-42 and AChE in silico. We also employed neurobehavioral activity tests, biochemical estimation, and histopathology to study the anti-Aβ1-42 aggregation capability of RSV in vivo. Molecular docking study provided evidence that RSV has the best binding conformer at its receptor site or active site of an enzyme. The cognitive impairment in female Wistar rats was induced by high-salt and cholesterol diet (HSCD) ad libitum for 8 weeks. RSV ameliorated serum cholesterol level, AChE activity, and Aβ1-42 peptide aggregations in HSCD induced cognitive impairment. In addition, RSV-treated rats showed greater scores in the open field (locomotor activity) test. Moreover, the histopathological studies in the hippocampus and cortex of rat brain also supported that RSV markedly reduced the cognitive impairment and preserved the normal histoarchitectural pattern of the hippocampus and cortex. Taken together, these data indicate that RSV may act as a dual inhibitor of AChE and Aβ1-42 peptide aggregation, therefore suggesting a therapeutic strategy for cognitive impairment treatment.