Ethnopharmacological Relevance: The Moutan cortex (MC), the root bark of Paeonia suffruticosa Anderws (Paeoniaceae), has been historically employed in traditional herbal medicine for addressing women's ailments by replenishing kidney Yin.
Aim Of The Study: We aimed to explore if paeonol, an active constituent of MC, could ameliorate neuropsychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairments, associated with post-menopausal syndrome (PMS) in an ovariectomized (OVX) mouse model.
Materials And Methods: The experimental design comprised 6 groups, including a sham group, OVX group, paeonol administration groups (3, 10 or 30 mg/kg, p.
Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) has memory impairment associated with aggregation of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the brain. Although anti-amyloid β (Aβ) protein antibody and chemical drugs can be prescribed in the clinic, they show adverse effects or low effectiveness. Therefore, the development of a new drug is necessarily needed.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by cognitive impairment. It is common in the elderly. Etiologically, dysfunction of cholinergic neurotransmitter system is prominent in AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIcariin, a major bioactive compound found in the genus, has been reported to exert protective effects against neurodegenerative disorders. In the current study, we aimed to investigate the regulatory effect of icariin and its active metabolites (icariside II and icaritin) against prime G-protein-coupled receptor targets, considering their association with neuronal disorders. Icariside II exhibited selective agonist activity towards the dopamine D3 receptor (DR), with half-maximal effective concentrations of 13.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNatural flavone and isoflavone analogs such as 3',4',7-trihydroxyflavone (), 3',4',7-trihydroxyisoflavone (), and calycosin () possess significant neuroprotective activity in Alzheimer's and Parkinson's disease. This study highlights the in vitro human monoamine oxidase (hMAO) inhibitory potential and functional effect of those natural flavonoids at dopamine and serotonin receptors for their possible role in neuroprotection. In vitro hMAO inhibition and enzyme kinetics studies were performed using a chemiluminescent assay.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHaloperidol, one of the representative typical antipsychotics, is on the market for schizophrenia but shows severe adverse effects such as extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) or cognitive impairments. Oleanolic acid (OA) is known to be effective for tardive dyskinesia which is induced by long-term treatment with L-DOPA. This study aimed to investigate whether OA could ameliorate EPS or cognitive impairment induced by haloperidol.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAims: Menopause is a natural process in women that can lead to post-menopausal syndrome with symptoms such as hot flushes, weight gain, anxiety, cognitive decline, and depression. Hormonal replacement therapy is commonly prescribed. However, it has serious adverse effects.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSchizophrenia is a chronic brain disorder characterized by positive symptoms (delusions or hallucinations), negative symptoms (impaired motivation or social withdrawal), and cognitive impairment. In the present study, we explored whether D-pinitol could ameliorate schizophrenia-like behaviors induced by MK-801, an N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. Acoustic startle response test was conducted to evaluate the effects of D-pinitol on sensorimotor gating function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOleanolic acid (OA) and ursolic acid (UA) are structural isomeric triterpenoids. Both triterpenoids have been reported to be able to improve depression. However, no studies have compared their effects in the same system.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Artemisia annua L. (Asteraceae) has been used as an antipyretic and anti-parasitic drug in traditional medicine for more than 2000 years. It has also been prescribed to treat symptoms caused by deficiency of Yin, which might be observed in menopausal state from the point of view of traditional medicine.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOxidative catabolism of monoamine neurotransmitters by monoamine oxidases (MAOs) produces reactive oxygen species (ROS), which contributes to neuronal cells' death and also lowers monoamine neurotransmitter levels. In addition, acetylcholinesterase activity and neuroinflammation are involved in neurodegenerative diseases. Herein, we aim to achieve a multifunctional agent that inhibits the oxidative catabolism of monoamine neurotransmitters and, hence, the detrimental production of ROS while enhancing neurotransmitter levels.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFProg Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry
January 2023
As a heterogeneous disorder, schizophrenia is known to be associated with neuroinflammation. A recent study showed that several cytokines are higher in the plasma and cerebrospinal fluid of schizophrenia patients. Lansoprazole, a proton pump inhibitor used for treating erosive esophagitis, has been reported to reduce INF-γ-induced neurotoxicity and decrease inflammatory cytokines including IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common heritable form of neurodevelopmental disorder, which is caused by the loss of fragile X mental retardation protein (FMRP) expression. Despite the unceasing efforts to develop therapeutic agents against FXS based on the pathophysiological changes observed in animal models of FXS and human patients, therapeutic candidates including mGluR signaling modulators have failed to provide sufficient effects. Based on the recent successful demonstration of an endogenous polyamine, agmatine, to improve the autism-like symptoms in the valproic acid animal model of autism, we investigated the effects of agmatine against FXS symptoms using Fmr1 knockout (KO) mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Cordia myxa L. (Boraginaceae) is widely distributed in tropical regions and it's fruits, leaves and stem bark have been utilized in folk medicine for treating trypanosomiasis caused by Trypanosoma cruzi. A population-based study showed that T.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common degenerative disease and is indicative of dementia. The cerebral accumulation of amyloid β (Aβ), a crucial factor in AD, initiates synaptic and cognitive dysfunction. Therefore, the elevation of synaptic and cognitive functions may help manage dementia in AD.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCurrent antipsychotics have limited effects on the cognitive deficits of schizophrenia patients, therefore, cognitive remediation has been applied to schizophrenia patients to ameliorate cognitive dysfunction. However, the neurobiological mechanisms of cognitive training programs have not been well studied because established animal models are not suitable or because repetitive training has not been introduced in such animal models. In the present study, we employed Toll-like receptor 2 knockout (TLR2 KO) mouse as a schizophrenia mouse model and evaluated the effects of repetitive training as cognitive remediation therapy for schizophrenia.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMemory-enhancing agents have long been required for various reasons such as for obtaining a good score in a test in the young and for retaining memory in the aged. Although many studies have found that several natural products may be good candidates for memory enhancement, there is still a need for better agents. The present study investigated whether rubrofusarin, an active ingredient in Cassiae semen, enhances learning and memory in normal mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Scrophularia buergeriana has been used for traditional medicine as an agent for reducing heat in the blood and for nourishing kidney 'Yin'. Therefore, S. buergeriana might be a potential treatment for mental illness, especially schizophrenia, which may be attenuated by supplying kidney Yin and reducing blood heat.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFNeuropharmacology
November 2021
Phlorotannins are polyphenolic compounds in marine alga, especially the brown algae. Among numerous phlorotannins, dieckol and phlorofucofuroeckol-A (PFF-A) are the major ones and despite a wider biological activity profile, knowledge of the G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) targets of these phlorotannins is lacking. This study explores prime GPCR targets of the two phlorotannins.
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