• The Korea Journal of Herbology
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• v.36 no.2
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• pp.1-9
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• 2021

Objectives : Gossypium arboreum (cotton) is traditionally used to treat various health disorders. However, anti-amnesic effect of G. arboreum has not been reported. The objective of this study was to investigate in-vivo the anti-amnesic effects along with in vitro antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition potential in G. arboreum seed essential oil. Methods : The essential oil of G. arboreum obtained by solid phase microextraction (SPME) techniques were identified by gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy (GC-MS). 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) and 2,2'-azino-bis-(3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-sulfonic acid) (ABTS) assay were performed to determine the antioxidant activity at various concentrations (312.5, 625, 1250, 2500, 5000, 10000 ㎍/㎖. Y-maze, passive avoidance and Morris water maze tests were carried out to evaluate improved effect on scopolamine (1 mg/kg)-induced memory dysfunction at the dose level of 50, 100 and 200 mg/kg. Donepezil (5 mg/kg) was used as a positive drug control. We performed acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity assay in ex vivo. Results : Five volatile compounds were identified in G. arboreum. The assays of DPPH and ABTS revealed that G. arboreum increased antioxidant activity in a dose-dependent manner. G. arboreum ameliorated the percent of spontaneous alternation in the Y-maze test, shortened step-through latency in the passive avoidance test, and increased swimming time in the target zone in the Morris water maze test. In addition, G. arboreum inhibited the AChE activity. Conclusions : Based on these findings, G. arboreum may aid in the prevention and treatment of learning and memory-deficit disorders through antioxidant and AChE inhibitory activities.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.31 no.1
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• pp.44-50
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• 2007

Ginseng powerfully tonifies the original Qi. Ginseng used for insomnia, palpitations with anxiety, restlessness from deficient Qi and blood and mental disorientation. In order to investigate whether Ginseng cerebral ischemia-induced neuronal and cognitive impairments, we examined the effect of Ginseng on ischemia-induced cell death in the hippocampus, and on the impaired learning and memory in the Morris water maze and passive avoidance in rats. Ginseng when administered to rat at a dose of 200 mg/kg i.p. water extracts to 0 minutes and 90 minutes after 4-VO, significantly neuroprotective effects by 86.4% in the hippocampus of treated rats. For behavior test, rats were administered Ginseng (200mg/kg p.o.) daily for two weeks, followed by their training to the tasks. Treatment with Ginseng produced a marked improvement in escape latency to find the platform in the Morris water maze. Ginseng reduced the ischemia-induced learning disability in the passive avoidance. Consistent with behavioral data, treatments with Ginseng reduced jschemia-induced cell death in the hippocampal CA1 area. Oxidative stress is a causal factor in the neuropathogenesis of ischemic-reperfusion injury. Oxidative stress was examined in a rat model of global brain ischemia. The effects of Ginseng on lipid peroxidation (inhibition of the production of malondialdehyde, MDA) in different regions of the rat brain were studied. Ferrous sulfate and ascorbic acid (FeAs) were used to induce lipid peroxidation. The antiperoxidative effect showed 48-72% protection from tissue damage as compared with untreated animals. These results showed that Ginseng have a protective effect against ischemia-induced neuronal loss and learning and memory damage.

• The Journal of Korean Medicine
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• v.23 no.2
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• pp.125-138
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• 2002

Learning and memory are essential requirements for every living organism in order to cope with environmental demands, and cholinergic systems are known to be involved in learning and memory. Scutellaria baicalensis (SB) and Gastrodia elata (GE) as a traditional Oriental medicine have been clinically used to treat or prevent memory deficits, including Alzheimer's disease. In the present study, we investigated the effects of SB and GE on learning and memory in the Morris water maze task and the central cholinergic system of the rats with excitotoxic medial septum lesions. In the water maze test, the animals were trained to find a platform at a fixed position over 6 days and then received a 60-s probe trial in which the platform was removed from the pool on the 7th day. Ibotenic lesion of the medial septum (MS) impaired their performance in the maze test (latency of acquisition test on the 3rd day, $27.6{\pm}$4.4 sec vs. $61.7{\pm}17.7$ sec; retention test, $7.9{\pm}1.3%$ vs. $5.7{\pm}1.0%$: sharn vs. ibotenic lesioned groups, respectively) and reduced choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) - immunoreactivity in the MS and the hippocarnpus, which is a marker for degeneration of the central cholinergic system (number of cells, $21.1{\pm}1.1$ vs. $13.2{\pm}1.3$: sham vs. ibotenic lesioned group). Daily administrations of SB (100mg/kg, p.o.) and GE (100mg/kg, p.o.) for 21 consecutive days produced significant reversals of ibotenic acid-induced deficit in learning and memory. These treatments also reduced the loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity in the MS and the hippocarnpus induced by ibotenic acid. These results demonstrated that SB and GE ameliorated learning and memory deficits through effects on the central nervous system, partly through effect on the acetylcholine system. Our studies suggest an evidence of SB and GE as treatment for Alzheimer's disease.

• Korean Journal of Food Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.373-379
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• 2015

This study aimed to investigate the anti-amnesic effect of perilla oil against trimethyltin (TMT)-induced learning and memory impairment in ICR mice. Perilla oil (2.5 mL/kg of body weight) and soybean oil (2.5 mL/kg of body weight) were administered orally to mice for 3 weeks, and at the end of the experimental period, cognitive behavior was examined by Y-maze and Morris water maze (MWM) tests. Behavioral tests showed that the mice treated with perilla oil had improved cognitive function compared to that in mice administered soybean oil. Analysis of brain tissue showed that perilla oil significantly lowered acetylcholinesterase activity and malondialdehyde (MDA) levels. Oxidized glutathione (GSH)-to-total GSH ratio also decreased from 10.4% to 5.3% in perilla oil-treated mice, but superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity increased from 11.7 to 14.2 U/mg protein. Therefore, these results suggest that the perilla oil could be a potential functional substance for improving cognitive function.

• Animal cells and systems
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.302-312
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• 2012

The purpose of this study was to examine whether Phellodendri Cortex extract (PCE) could improve learning and memory impairments caused by lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced inflammation in the rat brain. The effect of PCE on modulating pro-inflammatory mediators in the hippocampus and its underlying mechanism were investigated. Injection of LPS into the lateral ventricle caused acute regional inflammation and subsequent deficits in spatial learning ability in the rats. Daily administration of PCE (50, 100, and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) for 21 days markedly improved the LPS-induced learning and memory disabilities in the Morris water maze and passive avoidance test. PCE administration significantly decreased the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, interleukin-$1{\beta}$, and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in the hippocampus, as assessed by RT-PCR analysis and immunohistochemistry. Together, these findings suggest that PCE significantly attenuated LPS-induced spatial cognitive impairment through inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in the rat brain. These results suggested that PCE may be effective in preventing or slowing the development of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, by improving cognitive and memory function because of its anti-inflammation activity in the brain.

• The Korean Journal of Physiology and Pharmacology
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.85-89
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• 2009

Puerariae flos (PF) is a traditional oriental medicinal plant and has clinically been prescribed for a long time. The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of PF on repeated stress-induced alterations of learning and memory on a Morris water maze (MWM) test in ovariectomized (OVX) female rats. The changes in the reactivity of the cholinergic system were assessed by measuring the immunoreactive neurons of choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) in the hippocampus after behavioral testing. The female rats were randomly divided into four groups: the nonoperated and nonstressed group (normal), the sham-operated and stressed group (control), the ovariectomized and stressed group (OS), and the ovariectomized, stressed and PF treated group (OSF). Rats were exposed to immobilization stress (IMO) for 14 d (2 h/d), and PF (400 mg/kg, p.o.) was administered 30 min before IMO stress. Results showed that treatments with PF caused significant reversals of the stress-induced deficits in learning and memory on a spatial memory task, and also increased the ChA T immunoreactivities. In conclusion, administration of PF improved spatial learning and memory in OVX rats, and PF may be useful for the treatment of postmenopausal-related dementia.

• Journal of Physiology & Pathology in Korean Medicine
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.39-45
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• 2015

This experiment was designed to investigate the effect of Added Chongmyung-tang (ACM) on Alzheimer's disease mouse model. Effects of ACM on learning behavior were investigated using the Morris water maze method. Expression levels of molecular factors related to Alzheimer's disease such as glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), cluster of differentiation antigen 68 (CD68), and tau protein in the hippocampus of APP-SWE Tg2576 mice were analyzed by immunofluorescence staining method. ACM reduced escape latency in the Morris water maze test. ACM decreased the expression level of GFAP and tau protein in the hippocampus. These results suggest that ACM may be involved in regulating molecules that are known to play an important role in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease.

• Korean Journal of Medicinal Crop Science
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• v.19 no.6
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• pp.456-463
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• 2011

The present study examined the effects of Korean white ginseng (WG, Panax ginseng C. A. Meyer) on the learning and memory function and the neural activity in rats with trimethyltin (TMT)-induced memory deficits. The rats were administered with saline or WG (WG 100 or 300 mg/kg, p.o.) daily for 21 days. The cognitive improving efficacy of WG on the amnesic rats, which was induced by TMT, was investigated by assessing the Morris water maze test and by performing immunohistochemistries on choline acetyltransferase (ChAT), acetylcholinesterase (AchE), cAMP responsive element binding protein (CREB) and brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF). The rats treated with TMT injection (control group) showed impaired learning and memory of the tasks, but the rats treated with TMT injection and WG administration produced significant improvement of the escape latency to find the platform in the Morris water maze at the 2nd and 4th days compared to that of the control group. In the retention test, the WG 100 and WG 300 groups showed significantly increased crossing number around the platform compared to that of the control group (p < 0.001). Consistently with the behavioral data, result of immunohistochemistry analysis showed that WG 100 mg/kg significantly alleviated the loss of BDNF-ir neurons in the hippocampus compared to that of the control group (p < 0.01). Also, treatment with WG has a trend to be increased the cholinergic neurons in the hippocampal CA1 and CA3 areas as compared to that of the control group. These results suggest that WG may be useful for improving the cognitive function via regulation of neurotrophic activity.

• Journal of Ginseng Research
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• v.39 no.3
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• pp.250-256
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• 2015

Background: It has been known that ginseng can be applied as a potential nutraceutical for memory impairment; however, experiments with animals of old age are few. Methods: To determine the memory enhancing effect of red ginseng, C57BL/6 mice (21 mo old) were given experimental diet pellets containing 0.12% red ginseng extract (approximately 200 mg/kg/d) for 3 mo. Young and old mice (4 mo and 21 mo old, respectively) were used as the control group. The effect of red ginseng, which ameliorated memory impairment in aged mice, was quantified using Y-maze test, novel objective test, and Morris water maze. Red ginseng ameliorated age-related declines in learning and memory in older mice. In addition, red ginseng's effect on the induction of inducible nitric oxide synthase and proinflammatory cytokines was investigated in the hippocampus of aged mice. Results: Red ginseng treatment suppressed the production of age-processed inducible nitric oxide synthase, cyclooxygenase-2, tumor necrosis factor-${\alpha}$, and interleukin-$1{\beta}$ expressions. Moreover, it was observed that red ginseng had an antioxidative effect on aged mice. The suppressed glutathione level in aged mice was restored with red ginseng treatment. The antioxidative-related enzymes Nrf2 and HO-1 were increased with red ginseng treatment. Conclusion: The results revealed that when red ginseng is administered over long periods, age-related decline of learning and memory is ameliorated through anti-inflammatory activity.

• Clinical and Experimental Pediatrics
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• v.52 no.7
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• pp.824-831
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• 2009

Purpose : We aimed to investigate the efficacy of and functional recovery after intracerebral transplantation of different doses of mouse mesenchymal stem cells (mMSCs) in immature rat brain with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). Methods : Postnatal 7-days-old Sprague-Dawley rats, which had undergone unilateral HI operation, were given stereotaxic intracerebral injections of either vehicle or mMSCs and then tested for locomotory activity in the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 8th week of the stem cell injection. In the 8th week, Morris water maze test was performed to evaluate the learning and memory dysfunction for a week. Results : In the open field test, no differences were observed in the total distance/the total duration (F=0.412, P=0.745) among the 4 study groups. In the invisible-platform Morris water maze test, significant differences were observed in escape latency (F=380.319, P<0.01) among the 4 groups. The escape latency in the control group significantly differed from that in the high-dose mMSC and/or sham group on training days 2-5 (Scheffe's test, P<0.05) and became prominent with time progression (F=6.034, P<0.01). In spatial probe trial and visible-platform Morris water maze test, no significant improvement was observed in the rats that had undergone transplantation. Conclusion : Although the rats that received a high dose of mMSCs showed significant recovery in the learning-related behavioral test only, our data support that mMSCs may be used as a valuable source to improve outcome in HIE. Further study is necessary to identify the optimal dose that shows maximal efficacy for HIE treatment.