Orengedokuto and san'oshashinto improve memory deficits by inhibiting aging-dependent activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β.

Background And Aim: The aging-dependent activation of glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) has been suggested to be important in the onset of dementia. To discover novel therapeutic Kampo medicines for dementia, we examined the effects of orengedokuto (OGT; huáng lián jiědú tāng) and san'oshashinto (SST; sān huáng xiè xīn tāng) on memory deficits and GSK-3β activity in senescence-accelerated prone mice (SAMP8).

Experimental Procedure: The object recognition test (ORT) and conditioned fear memory test (CFT) were employed to elucidate short-term working memory and long-term fear memory.