The effects of phenylethanoid glycosides, derived from Herba cistanche, on cognitive deficits and antioxidant activities in male SAMP8 mice

Abstract

Cognitive deficits are closely associated with hippocampal synaptic changes. Phenylethanoid glycosides (PhG), derived from Herba cistanche, are known to exert protective effects on cognitive deficits in Alzheimer's disease (AD); however, the underlying mechanisms of this herbal extract on cognitive performance remain unclear. The aim of this study was thus to examine the protective mechanism attributed to PhG on cognitive deficits in an AD senescence accelerated mouse prone 8 (SAMP8) model. Cognitive deficit parameters examined included (1) Morris water maze (MWM) assessing cognitive performance and (2) quantification of dendritic spine density in hippocampal CA1 region by Golgi staining, a molecular biomarker of synaptic function. In addition, levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and gluthathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were determined to examine the potential role of oxidant processes in cognitive dysfunction. Data showed that PhG significantly decreased escape latency and path length, associated with a rise in the percentage of time spent in the target quadrant and number of platform crossings. In addition, PhG significantly increased dendritic spine density in the hippocampal CA1 region accompanied by elevated expression levels of synaptophysin (SYN) and post synaptic density 95 (PSD-95), reduced MDA content, and elevated the activities of SOD and GSH-Px. Data suggest that the ability of PhG to ameliorate cognitive deficits in SAMP8 mice may be related to promotion in synaptic plasticity involving antioxidant processes.

Cistanches alleviates sevoflurane‐induced cognitive dysfunction by regulating PPAR‐γ‐dependent antioxidant and anti‐inflammatory in rats

“…[11][12][13] Deng et al found that the echinacoside, one of the major active compounds of cistanche, exhibited protective effects on TNF-α-induced SH-SY5Y cell apoptosis. 16 For instance, Zhang et al investigated one of the cistanches extractions and confirmed its function of extending lifespan. There are two main flows by which the cistanches scavenge the free radicals, namely directly involving in the removal of free radicals or blocking their production and regulating the antioxidant enzymes related to the free radical metabolism in vivo, such as SOD, CAT and GPX.…”

Preclinical Evidence and Possible Mechanisms of Extracts or Compounds from Cistanches for Alzheimer’s Disease

“…All studies were conducted in China and published between 2001 and 2017, of which 4 studies were published in English [33, 42, 45, 49]. In total, 1696 rats or mice were involved, and the sample size ranged from 40 to 192.…”

“…The Morris water maze test, including the spatial test and the probe test, was conducted in 11 studies [32, 33, 38-41, 43, 45, 47-49]. All 11 studies reported the spatial test using the escape latency as an outcome measure, of which 3 studies [33, 48, 49] provided graphic data, and we failed to apply digital ruler software or to get in touch with the author for further information.…”

Therapeutic potential of phenylethanoid glycosides: A systematic review

“…PhGs were found to improve cognitive deficits in SAMP8 mice by improving synaptogenesis and synaptic plasticity. 98 It has been reported that the mean lifespan of Caenorhabditis elegans was extended by 13.64% and 15.82% after treated with 200 and 300 μM echinacoside, respectively. The protective effect of echinacoside on Aβ-induced toxicity in C. elegans was almost equal to that of ginkgolide A, a well-known agent with positive effects for AD.…”