eCAM：食物抗氧化剂可减轻辐射诱导的认知功能障碍

　　近期，美国国家航空和宇宙航行局（NASA）对空间旅行计划进行进一步拓展。此前已有研究指出，空间辐射可对认知能力、身体及精神健康产生负面影响。长时间的太空旅行会使宇航员暴露在高强度的辐射之下。

　　《美国实证医学期刊》（Evidence Based Complement Alternative Medicine）网络版4月15日刊登的一篇相关研究的结果显示，富含抗氧化剂的饮食或可为细胞提供保护，对抗辐射所产生的细胞损伤，并能发挥有效的神经保护作用，减轻辐射诱导的认知功能障碍及行为能力减退。

　　研究使用C57BL/6小鼠96只，平均分成两组，实验组喂食石榴饲料。对两组小鼠进行质子射线（2Gy）照射，对辐射后小鼠行为的改变进行为期2个月的观察分析，采用行为测试组系对认知和行为功能进行评估。通过悬尾试验发现质子射线与小鼠类抑郁行为有关，但这种影响可因进食石榴饲料而减轻。在旋转试验中雄性小鼠表现出较差的协调和平衡能力，石榴饲料可改善此种影响。

　　研究认为质子射线或会诱导产生不同形式的行为障碍，但食物抗氧化剂（如石榴）可为机体提供保护对抗这些影响。

Pomegranate Supplementation Improves Affective and Motor Behavior in Mice after Radiation Exposure
Abstract
Currently, NASA has plans for extended space travel, and previous research indicates that space radiation can have negative effects on cognitive skills as well as physical and mental health. With long-term space travel, astronauts will be exposed to greater radiation levels. Research shows that an antioxidant-enriched diet may offer some protection against the cellular effects of radiation and may provide significant neuroprotection from the effects of radiation-induced cognitive and behavioral skill deficits. Ninety-six C57BL/6 mice (48 pomegranate fed and 48 control) were irradiated with proton radiation (2 Gy), and two-month postradiation behaviors were assessed using a battery of behavioral tests to measure cognitive and motor functions. Proton irradiation was associated with depression-like behaviors in the tail suspension test, but this effect was ameliorated by the pomegranate diet. Males, in general, displayed worse coordination and balance than females on the rotarod task, and the pomegranate diet ameliorated this effect. Overall, it appears that proton irradiation, which may be encountered in space, may induce a different pattern of behavioral deficits in males than females and that a pomegranate diet may confer protection against some of those effects...