Chinese Medicine, Succinum, Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment of Carotid Artery Ligation Rats and Inhibits Apoptosis of HT22 Hippocampal Cells via Regulation of the GSK3β/β-Catenin Pathway

Abstract

Succinum is an organic mineral formed from the resin of ancient coniferous and leguminous plants, which is applied for tranquilizing mood, promoting blood circulation, and removing blood stasis in Chinese medicine. For quite a long time, the modern research of succinum mainly focuses on the study of physical and chemical properties and authenticity identification while few reports on its medicinal mechanism. In current study, we evaluated different solvent extracts of succinum on carotid artery ligation rats mimicking vascular dementia. It was found that ethyl acetate extracts of succinum significantly improved the learning and memory abilities of model rats and inhibited neuronal apoptosis in the hippocampus. On a mice hippocampal neuronal cell line (HT22), ethyl acetate extracts of succinum also exerted better action trend in inhibiting cell apoptosis induced by oxygen glucose deprivation (OGD). By using XAV-939 on both in vivo and in vitro studies, it was found that ethyl acetate extracts of succinum might exert these functions by regulating the GSK3β/β-catenin pathway. These studies revealed the neuronal function of succinum, which explained the traditional effects of succinum and provided more modern scientific basis for its clinical application.

Clinical effect of Shibing Xingnao granules on vascular dementia patients and its effect on serum neuronal apoptosis molecules

“…Another study (2022) (26) has also proposed that the active ingredients in Chinese herbal medicines can im-prove the cognitive function of patients by regulating the apoptosis of hippocampal cell apoptosis. This work also showed that after treatment, the Bcl-2 level was higher in the observation group than the control group, and Bax and Casp3 levels were lower (P<0.05).…”

Succinum extracts inhibit microglial-derived neuroinflammation and depressive-like behaviors

“…For further process to identify the bioactive compound of succinum, we confirmed that EtOAc PSF was most similar to the PSE effect among the three fractions ( Supplementary Figures S2A,B ). In recent, isopimarane diterpenes showing anti-inflammation properties have been proposed as a bioactive compound of succinum, and it ameliorated cognitive impairment via inhibiting hippocampal apoptosis ( Tungcharoen et al, 2020 ; Wei et al, 2022 ). As mentioned above, we speculate that terpenes-based compounds may involve with the anti-neuroinflammatory and antidepressant-like effects.…”