Bo-Ra Yun

The Ameliorating Effect of Steamed and Fermented Codonopsis lanceolata on Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment in Mice

Codonopsis lanceolata (Campanulaceae) have been traditionally used to treat lung inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis. The present study was performed to evaluate the cognitive-enhancing effects of steamed and fermented C. lanceolata in scopolamine-induced memory impairments in mice. Cognitive abilities were determined by the Morris water maze and passive avoidance tests. Mice orally received fermented C. lanceolata extract at doses of 100, 300, or 500 mg/kg body weight. Fermented C. lanceolata extract (500 mg/kg body weight, p.o.) significantly shortened the escape latency times that were increased by scopolamine on the 4th day of trial sessions in the Morris water maze task. In addition, it exerted longer step-through latency times than those of the scopolamine-treated group in the passive avoidance test. Furthermore, the neuroprotective effects of fermented C. lanceolata extract on glutamate-induced neurocytotoxicity were investigated in HT22 cells. Fermented C. lanceolata extract showed a relative protection ratio of 59.62% at 500 μg/mL. In conclusion, fermented C. lanceolata extract ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairments, exerted neuroprotective effects, and improved activity compared to that found with original C. lanceolata. Further study will be required to investigate the mechanisms underlying this cognitive-enhancing activity.

Neuroprotective Effect of Steamed and Fermented Codonopsis lanceolata

Codonopsis lanceolata has been used as an herbal medicine for several lung inflammatory diseases, such as asthma, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis. Previously, we showed the neuroprotective effect of steamed and fermented C. lanceolata (SFC) in vitro and in vivo. In the current study, the treatment of HT22 cells with SFC decreased glutamate-induced cell death, suggesting that SFC protected HT22 cells from glutamate-induced cytotoxicity. Based on these, we sought to elucidate the mechanisms of the neuro-protective effect of SFC by measuring the oxidative stress parameters and the expression of Bax and caspase-3 in HT22 cells. SFC reduced contents of ROS, Ca2+ and NO. Moreover, SFC restored contents of glutathione and glutathione reductase as well as inhibited Bax and caspase-3 activity in HT22 cells. These results indicate that steamed and fermented C. lanceolata (SFC) extract protected HT22 cells by anti-oxidative effect and inhibition of the expression of Bax and caspase-3.

Neuroprotective activity of the methanolic extract of Lonicera japonica in glutamate-injured primary rat cortical cells.

Background: We previously reported that the extracts of several Korean medicinal plants showed neuroprotective activity in glutamate-injured primary culutres of rat cortical cells. Objective: Among them, the effect of the methanolic extract of Lonicera japonica flower on the glutamate-induced neuronal cell death and its potential mechanism of action was investigated. Results: Treatment by the methanolic extract of L. japonica flower significantly protected neuronal cells against glutamate-induced excitotoxicity. It decreased the calcium influx that accompanies the glutamate induced excitotoxicity of neuronal cells, and inhibited the subsequent overproduction of nitric oxide, reactive oxygen species and peroxide to the level of control cells. In addition, it preserved cellular activity of superoxide dismutase, an antioxidative enzyme reduced by glutamate insult. Conclusions: According to this data, the methanolic extract of L. japonica flower significantly protected neuronal cells against glutamate excitotoxicity via antioxidative activity.

Simultaneous determination of 11 major components in Palmul-tang by HPLC-DAD and LC-MS-MS.

Palmul-tang, a traditional herbal medicine, is composed of eight herbs (Ginseng radix, Glycyrrhizae radix, Hoelen, Atractylodis rhizoma, Angelicae gigantis radix, Cnidii rhizoma, Paeoniae radix and Rehmanniae radix) and exhibits various bioactivities, including antiallergic and antitumor effects. In this study, an effective, reliable and accurate high-performance liquid chromatography method has been developed for the simultaneous determination of 11 marker components in Palmul-tang: hydroxymethylfurfural, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, ferulic acid, nodakenin, ginsenoside Rg1, decursinol, glycyrrhizin, 6-gingerol, ginsenoside Rg3 and decursin. All calibration curves of the 11 components indicated excellent linearity (correlation coefficient > 0.9997) within the test range. The limits of detection and quantification of each component were in the ranges of 0.08-1.03 and 0.23-3.11 µg/mL, respectively. The intra-day and inter-day relative standard deviation values were within 1.65 and 2.71%, respectively. The mean recovery values were 94.49 to 101.10%. The established method was successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of 11 major components in 12 commercial samples of Palmul-tang. The developed analytical method is simple and suitable for the quality control of Palmul-tang.

Neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing activity of the fermented Bozhougyiqi-Tang

Background: Alzheimers disease is a neurodegenerative disease related to memory impairments and neuronal cell death. Bozhougyiqi-Tang (BZYQT), a traditional herbal medicine, has been therapeutically used for the treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis. Objective: The aim of this study is to evaluated the neuroprotective effect of the fermented BZYQT and compared with unfermented BZYQT in HT22 cells by MTT assay and tested the beneficial effect on memory impairments induced by scopolamine (1 mg/kg, i.p.) using the passive avoidance and Morris water maze tests. Results: Compared with unfermented BZYQT, the neuroprotective effect of fermented BZYQT on glutamate induced neurotoxicity in HT22 cells increased at a concentration of 100 μg/mL. Fermented BZYQT increased the step-through latency of the passive avoidance response. Furthermore, in Morris water maze test for evaluation of spatial learning and memory, escape latency time was significantly reduced by fermented BZYQT. Conclusion: These results suggest that the fermentation process of BZYQT led to improve neuroprotective and cognitive enhancing effect.

Cognitive Enhancing and Neuroprotective Effect of the Embryo of the Nelumbo nucifera Seed

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effect of ENS on cognitive impairment induced by scopolamine and its potential neuroprotective effect against glutamate-induced cytotoxicity in HT22 cell and to investigate the underlying mechanisms. ENS (3, 10, 30, and 100 mg/kg), scopolamine (1 mg/kg), and donepezil (1 mg/kg) were administered to mice during a test period. Scopolamine impaired memory and learning in a water maze test and a passive avoidance test. The neuroprotective effect of ENS (10 and 100 μg/mL) was investigated on glutamate-induced cell death in HT22 cells by MTT assay. We investigated acetylcholinesterase inhibition in hippocampus and antioxidant activity, ROS levels, and Ca2+ influx in HT22 cells to elucidate the potential mechanisms of ENS. We found that ENS significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment and inhibited AChE activity in hippocampus. In vitro, ENS showed potent neuroprotective effects against glutamate-induced neurotoxicity in the HT22 cell. In addition, ENS induced a decrease in ROS production and intercellular Ca2+ accumulation and showed DPPH radical and H2O2 scavenging activity. In conclusion, ENS showed both a memory improving effect and a neuroprotective effect. Our results indicate that ENS may be of use in the treatment and prevention of neurodegenerative disorders.

Cognitive-Enhancing Effect of Steamed and Fermented Codonopsis lanceolata: A Behavioral and Biochemical Study

Alzheimers disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder characterized by memory impairment. Codonopsis lanceolata (C. lanceolata) has been employed clinically for lung inflammatory diseases such as asthma, tonsillitis, and pharyngitis. The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of fermented C. lanceolata (300, 500, and 800 mg/kg) on learning and memory impairment induced by scopolamine by using the Morris water maze and passive avoidance tests. To elucidate possible mechanism of cognitive-enhancing activity, we measured acetylcholinesterase (AchE) activity, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), and cyclic AMP response element-binding protein (CREB) expression in the brain of mice. Administration of fermented C. lanceolata (800 mg/kg) led to reduced scopolamine-induced memory impairment in the Morris water maze and passive avoidance tests. Accordingly, the administration of fermented C. lanceolata inhibited AchE activity. Interestingly, the level of CREB phosphorylation and BDNF expression in hippocampal tissue of scopolamine-treated mice was significantly increased by the administration of fermented C. lanceolata. These results indicate that fermented C. lanceolata can ameliorate scopolamine-induced memory deficits in mouse and may be an alternative agent for the treatment of AD.

Neuroprotective effect of the fermented Gumiganghwal-tang.

Gumiganghwal-tang (GT) is a traditional herbal prescription widely used to treat inflammatory diseases in Asia. In this study, we evaluated neuroprotective effect and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory activity of GT and compared with fermented GT (FGT). In order to better understand the neuroprotective mechanism, intracellular reactive oxygen species (ROS) production was investigated and high-performance liquid chromatography with diode-array detection (HPLC-DAD) analysis of contents of GT and FGT were conducted. As a result, FGT showed more potent protective effect against glutamate-induced HT22 cell death than GT and inhibited AChE activity. The neuroprotective effect of FGT is associated with inhibition of ROS production. The HPLC-DAD analytical results indicated that FGT contains higher content of bergapten and atractylenolide III than that of GT. In conclusion, FGT have neuroprotective effect and AChE inhibition, and may be useful source for treatment of neurodegenerative disease.

Neuroprotective Properties of Compounds Extracted from Dianthus superbus L. against Glutamate-induced Cell Death in HT22 Cells.

Background: Dianthus superbus L. has been used in Chinese herbal medicine as a diuretic and anti-inflammatory agent. Objective: In this study, we isolated ten bioactive compounds from D. superbus and evaluated their neuroprotective activity against glutamate-induced cell death in the hippocampal neuronal HT22 cells. Materials and Methods: New compound, (E)-methyl-4-hydroxy-4-(8a-methyl-3-oxodecahydronaphthalen-4a-yl) (1) and, nine known compounds, diosmetin-7-O (2’’,6’’-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-pentyl ester benzenepropanoic acid (3), vanillic acid (4), 4-hydroxy-benzeneacetic acid (5), 4-methoxybenzeneacetic acid (6), (E)-4-methoxycinnamic acid (7), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethanol (8), hydroferulic acid (9), and methyl hydroferulate (10), were isolated by bioactivity-guided separation. Structures of the isolated compounds were identified on the basis of 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), 13C NMR, and two-dimensional NMR spectra, while their neuroprotective properties were evaluated by performing the 3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide assay. Results: D. superbus extract had a neuroprotective effect and isolated 10 compounds. Among the compounds, compounds 5 and 6 effectively protected HT22 cells against glutamate toxicity. Conclusion: In conclusion, the extract of D. superbus and compounds isolated from it exhibited neuroprotective properties, suggesting therapeutic potential for applications in neurotoxic diseases. SUMMARY D. superbus extract significantly protected on glutamate-induced cell death in HT22 cells New compound, (E)-methyl-4-hydroxy-4-(8a-methyl-3-oxodecahydronaphthalen-4a-yl) (1) and, nine known compounds, diosmetin-7-O(2’’,6’’-di-O-α-L-rhamnopyranosyl)-β-D-glucopyranoside (2), 4-hydroxy-3-methoxy-pentyl ester benzenepropanoic acid (3), vanillic acid (4), 4-hydroxy-benzeneacetic acid (5), 4-methoxybenzeneacetic acid (6), (E)-4-methoxycinnamic acid (7), 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylethanol (8), hydroferulic acid (9), and methyl hydroferulate (10) were isolated from D. superbus extract 4-hydroxy-benzeneacetic acid and 4-methoxybenzeneacetic acid showed significant protective activity against glutamate-induced toxicity in HT22 cells. Abbreviations used: CNS: Central nervous system, ROS: Reactive oxygen species, CHCl3: Chloroform, EtOAc: Ethyl acetate, BuOH: Butanol, HPLC: High performance liquid chromatography, TLC: Thin layer chromatography, MPLC: Middle performance liquid chromatography, MeOH: Methanol, OD: Optical density, COSY: Correlation spectroscopy, HMQC: Heteronuclear multiple-quantum correlation, HMBC: Heteronuclear multiple-bond correlation, HR-MS: High-resolution molecular spectroscopy, MTT: 3-(4,5-Dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide.

Simultaneous determination of 14 bioactive compounds in Samchulkunbi-tang using HPLC-DAD and LC-MS

A simple high performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector (HPLC-DAD) method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of 14 compounds (chlorogenic acid, albiflorin, paeoniflorin, hyperoside, naringin, hesperidin, ginsenoside Rg1, poncirin, glycyrrhizin, 6-gingerol, atractylenolide III, ginsenoside Rg3, magnolol and atractylenolide I) in Samchulkunbi-tang (SKT). The identification of 14 standard compounds was conducted using liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The marker compounds in SKT were separated on a Shiseido C18 column at a column temperature of 30 °C. The mobile phase was composed of 0.1% trifluoroacetic acid in water and acetonitrile. The detection wavelengths were set at 200, 205, 280 and 330 nm. The developed method had good linearity (R2 > 0.9996). The relative standard deviation (RSD) values of intra- and inter-day testing were less than 3%, with 90.63–109.95% accuracy. The results of the recovery test were 90.40–109.94%. In conclusion, this HPLC-DAD method has been successfully applied to the simultaneous determination of 14 compounds in SKT.