Erinacine A-Enriched Hericium erinaceus Mycelium Delays Progression of Age-Related Cognitive Decline in Senescence Accelerated Mouse Prone 8 (SAMP8) Mice.

Li-Ya Lee,Wan-Ping Chen,Kwong-Chung Tung,Ming-Fu Wang,Ying-Ju Chen,Wayne Chou,Chin-Chu Chen

doi:10.3390/nu13103659

Abstract

There have been many reports on the neuroprotective effects of Hericium erinaceus mycelium, in which the most well-known active compounds found are diterpenoids, such as erinacine A. Previously, erinacine A-enriched Hericeum erinaceus mycelium (EAHEM) was shown to decrease amyloid plaque aggregation and improve cognitive disability in Alzheimer’s disease model APP/PS1 mice. However, its effects on brain aging have not yet been touched upon. Here, we used senescence accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice as a model to elucidate the mechanism by which EAHEM delays the aging of the brain. Three-month-old SAMP8 mice were divided into three EAHEM dosage groups, administered at 108, 215 and 431 mg/kg/BW/day, respectively. During the 12th week of EAHEM feeding, learning and memory of the mice were evaluated by single-trial passive avoidance and active avoidance test. After sacrifice, the amyloid plaques, induced nitric oxidase synthase (iNOS) activity, thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) and 8-OHdG levels were analyzed. We found that the lowest dose of 108 mg/kg/BW EAHEM was sufficient to significantly improve learning and memory in the passive and active avoidance tests. In all three EAHEM dose groups, iNOS, TBARS and 8-OHdG levels all decreased significantly and showed a dose-dependent response. The results indicate that EAHEM improved learning and memory and delayed degenerative aging in mice brains.

Highlights

With the advent of an aging population worldwide, neurodegenerative diseases have become a major socioeconomic concern, of which Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is most closely tied to aging
The results indicated that in both male and female senescence accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) mice, there was no significant difference between control and treated groups in acquisition training
Latency time displayed a decreasing trend in all groups 3 days after training. This may be due to the absence of foot shock in the tests following the first day of the experiment

Summary

Introduction

With the advent of an aging population worldwide, neurodegenerative diseases have become a major socioeconomic concern, of which Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is most closely tied to aging. A strategy that would be more readily acceptable to the public is dietary supplements that provide preventive effects against the disease. The molecular pathogenesis of AD is not yet completely elucidated, adding to the concern of AD becoming a major health as well as economic crisis [4]. The overarching aims of research on brain aging include, (i) understanding how the brain changes with respect to age, (ii) understanding the causation of these changes, (iii) helping to improve brain health and decrease the detrimental effects of cognitive impairment and neuropsychiatric diseases during the course of aging [5,6,7]

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