Overweight or
obesity in post-menopausal women is known to induce metabolic disorders associated with
neuroinflammation. α-
lipoic acid (α-LA), which has been clinically used to treat diabetic
peripheral neuropathy, has been found to exert anti-inflammatory and
neuroprotective effects in patients with
Alzheimer's disease (AD). In this study, to investigate the effects of α-LA on neuroinflammatory factors and the levels of hippocampal
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (
BDNF) in ovariectomized rats fed a high-fat diet (HFD), Wistar ovariectomized rats were fed HFD alone or HFD and treated with α-LA for 12 weeks. Metabolic parameters in serum were detected, real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR), western blot analysis and ELISA were used to evaluate the levels of inflammatory factors and
BDNF in the hippocampus. α-LA markedly reduced
body weight, the levels of serum total
cholesterol (TC) and
low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (
LDL-C), as well as the levels of
leptin and
insulin resistance in ovariectomized rats fed HFD. It also significantly increased the levels of serum
adiponectin and
high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C). In the hippocampal tissues of ovariectomized rats fed HFD, the
protein and
mRNA expression of
BDNF was upregulated following the administration of α-LA. Conversely, the levels of
interleukin 6 (IL-6) and tumour
necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) were decreased following treatment with α-LA. These findings demonstrate that α-LA significantly increases the expression of
BDNF in the hippocampus of obese ovariectomized rats fed HFD, possibly by improving lipid metabolism, enhancing
insulin sensitivity and reversing central
inflammation.