Origin of endogenous nitric oxide released in the nucleus accumbens under real-time in vivo conditions.

Aims: Nitric oxide (NO), is a simple but multifarious molecule. It is implicated in physiological and pathological processes within the striatum, mainly in the nucleus accumbens (NAc). The aim of the present study was to determine the origin of NO in the NAc of anaesthetized rats by applying various compounds known to modulate the release of NO when applied either systemically or locally.

Antagonist of M1 muscarinic acetylcholine receptor prevents neurotoxicity induced by amphetamine via nitric oxide pathway.

The psychostimulant amphetamine (AMPH) has been found to induce striatal acetylcholine release and neurotoxic processes via nitric oxide (NO) and lipid peroxidation (LPO). Our purpose was to determine whether blocking striatal muscarinic (M1) receptors by the selective M1 antagonist toxin 7 (MT 7; bilaterally, 2 microg per side) might attenuate the effects of AMPH (4 x 5 mg/kg, i.p.

Extracts and constituents of Leontopodium alpinum enhance cholinergic transmission: brain ACh increasing and memory improving properties.

Leontopodium alpinum ('Edelweiss') was phytochemically investigated for constituents that might enhance cholinergic neurotransmission. The potency to increase synaptic availability of acetylcholine (ACh) in rat brain served as key property for the bioguided isolation of cholinergically active compounds using different chromatographic techniques. The dichlormethane (DCM) extract of the root, fractions and isolated constituents were injected i.

Acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of scopolin and scopoletin discovered by virtual screening of natural products.

For the targeting selection of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitors from natural sources we generated a structure-based pharmacophore model utilizing an in silico filtering experiment for the discovery of promising candidates out of a 3D multiconformational database consisting of more than 110,000 natural products. In our study, scopoletin (1) and its glucoside scopolin (2) emerged as potential AChE inhibitors by the virtual screening procedure. They were isolated by different chromatographic methods from the medicinal plant Scopolia carniolica Jaqc.