Abstract
As a kind of medicine which can also be used as food, Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. has a long clinical history in China. A variety of studies demonstrated the significant neuroprotective activity effects of chloroform (CF) extract from the fruits of Alpinia oxyphylla. In order to further elucidate the possible mechanisms of CF extract which mainly contains sesquiterpenes with neuroprotection on the cognitive ability, mice were injected with Aβ 1−42 and later with CF in this study. The results showed that the long-term treatment of CF enhanced the cognitive performances in behavior tests, increased activities of glutathione peroxidase (GSH-px) and decreased the level of malondialdehyde (MDA), acetylcholinesterase (AChE), and amyloid-β (Aβ), and reversed the activation of microglia, degeneration of neuronal acidophilia, and nuclear condensation in the cortex and hippocampus. These results demonstrate that CF ameliorates learning and memory deficits by attenuating oxidative stress and regulating the activation of microglia and degeneration of neuronal acidophilia to reinforce cholinergic functions.
Highlights
As the global population ages, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is rapidly becoming an urgent public health challenge
Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. has been often touted as a drug hid in kitchen; it is not necessary to worry about the side effect of taking it
It has been reported that ethanol extract of Alpinia oxyphylla fructus shows inhibition of tau protein phosphorylation in cell culture and the mechanism of sharp leaf galangal fruit extract can improve the spatial learning ability having business with its inhibiting ability on serum levels of cytokines [25]
Summary
As the global population ages, Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is rapidly becoming an urgent public health challenge. AD is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain which is characterized by deterioration of memory and cognitive functions with formation of senile plaques and neurofibrillary tangles and the loss of synapses in the selected regions of the brain. Scientists have proposed the cholinergic hypothesis; namely, the alternations of cholinergic system are closely related to the damage of cognitive function and AD. Based on this theory, a number of studies have been launched on acetyl cholinesterase (AChE) inhibitor, and AChE inhibitors have been successfully developed for clinical treatment of AD [3,4,5]. To eliminate the deposition of Aβ, the main research strategy includes the following two pathways: one is to search Aβ secretase inhibitors, mainly including β-secretase inhibitors; the other one is to prepare antibodies of Aβ by using the immunological method in order to reduce the deposition of Aβ
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