Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment (Nov 2019)

Traditional Chinese Medicine Shenmayizhi Decoction Ameliorates Memory And Cognitive Impairment Induced By Scopolamine Via Preventing Hippocampal Cholinergic Dysfunction In Rats

  • Wu Q,
  • Cao Y,
  • Liu M,
  • Liu F,
  • Brantner AH,
  • Yang Y,
  • Wei Y,
  • Zhou Y,
  • Wang Z,
  • Ma L,
  • Wang F,
  • Pei H,
  • Li H

Journal volume & issue
Vol. Volume 15
pp. 3167 – 3176

Abstract

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Qiong Wu,1,2,* Yu Cao,1,* Meixia Liu,1 Fang Liu,1 Adelheid H Brantner,3 Yang Yang,1 Yun Wei,1 Yu Zhou,4 Zhiyong Wang,1 Lina Ma,1 Feixue Wang,1 Hui Pei,1 Hao Li1 1Department of Geriatrics, Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, Beijing 100091, People’s Republic of China; 2Department of Ophthalmology, Dongfang Hospital, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100078, People’s Republic of China; 3Department of Pharmacognosy, Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, University of Graz, Graz, Austria; 4Department of Polymer Chemistry, Zernike Institute for Advanced Materials, Groningen 9747 AG, The Netherlands*These authors contributed equally to this workCorrespondence: Hao Li; Hui PeiDepartment of Geriatrics, Xiyuan Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, 1 Xiyuan Caochang Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100091, People’s Republic of ChinaTel +86 10 6283 5631Email [email protected]; [email protected]: Clinical trials have illustrated that Shenmayizhi decoction (SMYZ) could improve the cognitive functions in patients with dementia. However, the mechanism needs to be explored.Methods: Fifty adult male rats (Wistar strain) were divided into five groups equally and randomly, including control, model, and SMYZ of low dose, medium dose and high dose. Rats in each group received a daily gavage of respective treatment. Rats in control and model group were administrated by the same volume of distilled water. Memory impairment was induced by intraperitoneal administration of scopolamine (0.7 mg/kg) for 5 continuous days. Four weeks later, Morris water maze (MWM) was performed to evaluate the spatial memory in all rats. Then, rats were sacrificed and the hippocampus was removed for further tests. Furthermore, Western blot analysis was employed to assess the levels of acetylcholine M1 receptor (M1), acetylcholine M2 receptor (M2), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and cholineacetyltransferase (ChAT). AChE and ChAT activities were determined.Results: The SMYZ decoction significantly improved behavioral performance of rats in high dose. The SMYZ decoction in three doses exhibited anti-acetylcholinesterase activity. In addition, a high dose of SMYZ promoted ChAT activity. Moreover, a high dose of SMYZ increased the level of ChAT and declined the level of AChE assessed by Western blotting. Besides, an increased level of M1 receptor was found after treatment.Conclusion: Shenmayizhi decoction could mitigate scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits through the preventative effect on cholinergic system dysfunction.Keywords: dementia, Shenmayizhi decoction, scopolamine, acetylcholine M1 receptor, acetylcholinesterase, cholineacetyltransferase  

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