Phellodendron amurenseand Its Major Alkaloid Compound, Berberine Ameliorates Scopolamine-Induced Neuronal Impairment and Memory Dysfunction in Rats

Abstract

We examine whether Phellodendron amurense (PA) and its major alkaloid compound, berberine (BER), improved memory defects caused by administering scopolamine in rats. Effects of PA and BER on the acetylcholinergic system and pro-inflammatory cytokines in the hippocampus were also investigated. Male rats were administered daily doses for 14 days of PA (100 and 200 mg/kg, i.p.) and BER (20 mg/kg, i.p.) 30 min before scopolamine injection (2 mg/kg, i.p.). Daily administration of PA and BER improved memory impairment as measured by the passive avoidance test and reduced the escape latency for finding the platform in the Morris water maze test. Administration of PA and BER significantly alleviated memory-associated decreases in cholinergic immunoreactivity and restored brain-derived neurotrophic factor and cAMP-response element-binding protein mRNA expression in the hippocampus. PA and BER also decreased significantly the expression of proinflammatory cytokines such as interleukin-1β, tumor necrosis factor-α and cyclooxygenase-2 mRNA in the hippocampus. These results demonstrated that PA and BER had significant neuroprotective effects against neuronal impairment and memory dysfunction caused by scopolamine in rats. These results suggest that PA and BER may be useful as therapeutic agents for improving cognitive functioning by stimulating cholinergic enzyme activity and alleviating inflammatory responses.

Neuroprotective Effects of AMP-Activated Protein Kinase on Scopolamine Induced Memory Impairment

“…administration of scopolamine, a muscarinic cholinergic receptor antagonist, was exploited as a parmarcological model for AD in rats. Scopolamine interfere with central cholinergic functions and memory circuits, leading to decreased Ach release and subsequent memory, attention, and executive function-related deficits that are seen in aging and dementia [14]. Due to this, scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunction is extensively used to probe potential therapeutic agents attenuating cognitive deficits [15].…”

Enhanced behavioral response by decreasing brain oxidative stress to 6-hydroxy-l-nicotine in Alzheimer’s disease rat model

“…injection of scopolamine causes memory impairment, in accordance with previous investigations [4,18]. Scopolamine is a tropane alkaloid drug that exhibits competitive antagonism at muscarinic acetylcholine receptors (mAChRs) by interfering with cholinergic transmission in the central nervous system (CNS) [16,17]. Moreover, scopolamine administration to animals is used as an experimental model of the cognitive deterioration and memory disturbances in AD.…”

Effects of Crocin on Spatial Memory Impairment Induced by Hyoscine and Its Effects on BDNF, CREB, and p-CREB Protein and mRNA Levels in Rat Hippocampus

“…Scopolamine (hyoscine) is an anticholinergic drug that causes dementia by interfering with LTP. It can be used to induce memory impairment in animal models (31). It has been reported that scopolamine causes memory impairment in Morris water maze test through down regulation of protein kinase C and iNOS (32).…”