Abstract: ObjectiveTo evaluate whether long-term resvertrol(Res)treatment could result in the attenuation of spatial memory impairment in Alzheimer's disease(AD)rats and its mechanism.MethodsSixty female Wistar rats were divided into an AD model group(treated with ovariectomyOVXplus D-galactoseGal at 100 mg/kg),low,moderate,and high Res groups(OVX,Gal and Res at 20,40,80 mg/kg),estradiol valerate group(OVX,Gal and estradiol valerate at 0.8 mg/kg),and sham control group.At the end of 12 weeks,spatial memory was checked with Morris water maze test(MWM) and the expression of β amyloid precursor protein(β-APP)in hippocampus of the rats was test with Western blot.ResultsThe escape latency to find the submerged platform significantly declined in the rats of all groups.Moreover, the latency in the rats of 80 mg/kg Res(16.49±4.18 s)and estradiol valerate treatment group(17.05±2.71 s)decreased significantly,while the times of crossing over the platform site for the rats in 80 mg/kg Res(3.90±0.97)and estradiol valerate treatment group (3.44±0.63)increased markedly compared with that of the model group(1.22±0.45)(P<0.05).The time of stay in the target quadrant for the rats in all of the Res treatment groups was longer than that of the model group(P<0.05).The expression of β-APP in hippocampus in the rats of 20,40 and 80 mg/kg Res treatment groups were 0.57±0.054,2.63±0.50,and 0.28±0.043,respectively,with significant decrease compared with that of the model group(0.27±0.057)(P<0.05).ConclusionThe results suggest that Res is helpful in protecting AD rats from developing memory decline by decreasing the expression of β-APP in hippocampus.