Peony seed oil alleviates selected cognitive deficits in D-galactose-treated mice

Peony seed oil (PSO) is rich in unsaturated fatty acids, but its effects on cognitive impairment remain unclear. Male C57BL/6J mice received D-galactose (200 mg/kg/day) with or without PSO (2.4, 4.8, or 9.6 mL/kg/day) for 8 weeks. Cognition, hippocampal morphology, serum malondialdehyde and superoxide dismutase, hippocampal synapse-related transcripts, PSO composition, and predictive network pharmacology were assessed. PSO improved Morris water maze and Y-maze performance and was associated with more preserved hippocampal morphology. It also improved serum oxidative stress-related indicators and upregulated hippocampal Dlg4 , Syn1 , Slc17a7 , Grin1 , Grin2b , and Stx1a mRNA. PSO contained 45.60% alpha-linolenic acid, 22.62% linoleic acid, and 17.12% oleic acid. Network analysis generated unvalidated candidate targets and pathways. PSO attenuated D-galactose-induced cognitive deficits, although protein-level, brain oxidative-stress, and mechanistic validation is still required.