Chronic stress exposure has been widely recognized as a significant contributor to numerous central nervous system (CNS) disorders, leading to debilitating behavioral changes such as anxiety, depression, and cognitive impairments. The prolonged activation of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis during chronic stress disrupts the neuroendocrine balance and has detrimental effects on neuronal function and survival. () Gaertn.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOur previous study demonstrated neuroprotective and therapeutic effects of a standardized flavonoid extract from leaves of Diospyros kaki L.f. (DK) on middle cerebral artery occlusion-and-reperfusion (MCAO/R)-induced brain injury and its underlying mechanisms.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to investigate the neuroprotective and therapeutic effects of Diospyros kaki L.f. leaves (DK) on transient focal cerebral ischemic injury and underlying mechanisms using a middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) model of mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFCognitive impairment is a neurological symptom caused by reduced estrogen levels in menopausal women. The Thai traditional medicine, Yakae-Prajamduen-Jamod (YPJ), is a formula consisting of 23 medicinal herbs and has long been used to treat menopausal symptoms in Thailand. In the present study, we investigated the effects of YPJ on cognitive deficits and its underlying mechanisms of action in ovariectomized (OVX) mice, an animal model of menopause.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: This study aims to investigate the anti-hypertensive effects of aqueous extract of and their underlying mechanism using a two-kidney one-clip (2K1C) model of reno-vascular hypertension in rats.
Methods: The reno-vascular hypertensive rats were treated with leaf extract (100 and 500 mg/kg; p.o.
This study aims to clarify the bioactive constituents responsible for the anti-dementia effects of Ocimum sanctum Linn. ethanolic extract (OS) using olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) mice, an animal model of dementia. The effects of OS or its extract further fractionated with n-hexane (OS-H), ethyl acetate (OS-E), and n-butanol (OS-B) on the spatial cognitive deficits of OBX mice were elucidated by the modified Y-maze tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Tradit Complement Med
November 2021
Kihito (KIT; Gui Pi Tang) is a traditional herbal medicine that is used for treatment of neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression, anxiety, neurosis and insomnia in China and Japan. Recently, it has also been shown that KIT improves cognitive dysfunction in patients with Alzheimer's disease. In this study, to investigate the mechanisms underlying the effects of KIT on stress-induced brain dysfunctions such as a depressed state and memory impairment, we examined whether KIT prevents behavioral and neurophysiological abnormalities in mice treated chronically with corticosterone (CORT).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis study aimed to clarify the antidementia effects of ethanolic extract of Linn. (OS) and its underlying mechanisms using olfactory bulbectomized (OBX) mice. OBX mice were treated daily with OS or a reference drug, donepezil (DNP).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe effects of the phytoestrogen-enriched plant (PM) extract on ovari-ectomy (OVX)-induced cognitive impairment and hippocampal oxidative stress in mice were investigated. Daily treatment with PM and 17β-estradiol (E2) significantly elevated cognitive behavior as evaluated by using the Y maze test, the novel object recognition test (NORT), and the Morris water maze test (MWM), attenuated atrophic changes in the uterus and decreased serum 17β-estradiol levels. The treatments significantly ameliorated ovariectomy-induced oxidative stress in the hippocampus and serum by a decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA), an enhancement of superoxide dismutase, and catalase activity, including significantly down-regulated expression of IL-1β, IL-6 and TNF-α proinflammatory cytokines, while up-regulating expression of PI3K.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAutism spectrum disorders (ASD) have heterogeneous etiologies involving dysfunction of central nervous systems, for which no effective pan-specific treatments are available. Ilex kudingcha (IK) C.J.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe author wishes to make the following correction to this paper [...
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPhytochemical investigation of a methanolic extract of collected from Vietnam resulted in the isolation of a new megastigmane glucoside, named sedumoside K (), together with 17 previously reported compounds (). Structural elucidation of the new compound was achieved by HRFABMS, NMR spectroscopic analysis, acid hydrolysis and quantum ECD calculations. The absolute configuration of compounds has been revised.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFL. Wettst. (BM) is a botanical component of Ayurvedic medicines and of dietary supplements used worldwide for cognitive health and function.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFDaily treatment of ovariectomized (OVX) ICR mice with puerarin, a glycosyl isoflavone isolated from the root bark of var. , and 17β-estradiol attenuated ovariectomy-induced depression-like behavior, as indicated by a decrease in immobility times in the tail suspension test (TST) and the forced swimming test (FST), an increase in the uterine weight and volume, a decrease in serum corticosterone levels, and dose-dependently normalized the downregulated transcription of the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and estrogen receptor (Erβ and Erα) mRNAs. Like 17β-estradiol, puerarin also inhibited ovariectomy-induced suppression of neurogenesis in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (increased the number of doublecortin (DCX)-immunosuppressive cells).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPost-weaning social isolation of laboratory animals is known to induce many behavioural and neurochemical abnormalities, which resemble neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression and anxiety. Therefore, they can help provide a suitable animal model to investigate the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric symptoms and explore potential drugs for the treatment of neuropsychiatric diseases. Our recent studies have demonstrated that post-weaning social isolation of mice for no less than one week causes behaviour changes such as reduced attention, impaired social affiliation behaviour, and impaired conditional fear memories.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground 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.
Whole exome analyses have identified a number of genes associated with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and ASD-related syndromes. These genes encode key regulators of synaptogenesis, synaptic plasticity, cytoskeleton dynamics, protein synthesis and degradation, chromatin remodeling, transcription, and lipid homeostasis. Furthermore, in silico studies suggest complex regulatory networks among these genes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWe previously demonstrated that Bacopa monnier (L.) WETTST. extract (BME) ameliorated cognitive dysfunction in animal models of dementia by enhancing synaptic plasticity-related signaling in the hippocampus and protecting cholinergic neurons in the medial septum.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFEthnopharmacological Relevance: Kami-shoyo-san (KSS) is a Kampo formula used clinically for menopause-related symptoms in Japan. However, the effect of KSS on autism spectrum disorder (ASD), a developmental disorder with a higher prevalence in males than in females, has not been reported yet.
Aim Of The Study: It is accepted generally that dysfunction in the GABAergic system is associated with pathogenesis of ASD.
Dysfunctions in the GABAergic system are associated with the pathogenesis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, the mechanisms by which GABAergic system dysfunctions induce the pathophysiology of ASD remain unclear. We previously demonstrated that a selective type I 5α-reductase inhibitor SKF105111 (SKF) induced ASD-like behaviors, such as impaired sociability-related performance and repetitive grooming behaviors, in male mice.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFKamiuntanto (KUT; Jia Wei Wen Dan Tang in Pinyin) is a traditional Japanese Kampo medicine that is used to treat psychological dysfunction. However, the mechanisms of action of KUT are not understood. To investigate the mechanisms underlying the ameliorative properties of KUT, the effects of KUT on abnormal behaviors of isolation-reared mice and on the prefrontal monoaminergic system were examined.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFVascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), a signaling molecule involved in angiogenesis, plays an important role in neuroprotection and neurogenesis. In the present study, we aimed to elucidate the mechanisms underlying endogenous acetylcholine (ACh)-induced VEGF expression in neurons and astrocytes, and identify the neuronal cells contributing to its expression in the medial septal area, a nuclear origin of cholinergic neurons mainly projecting to the hippocampus. The mRNA expression and secretion of VEGF were measured by RT-PCR and ELISA using mouse primary cultured cortical neurons and astrocytes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSocial isolation (SI) mice exhibit behavioral abnormalities such as impairments of sociability- and attention-like behaviors, offering an animal model of neurodevelopmental disorders such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). This study aimed to identify the effects of Sansoninto (SST; suān zǎo rén tāng) on the psychiatric symptoms related to ADHD using SI mice. Four-week-old mice were socially isolated during the experimental period, and SST administration (800 or 2400 mg/kg, p.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChotosan (CTS), a traditional herbal formula called Kampo medicine, was shown to be effective in the treatment of vascular dementia in a clinical study, and exerted protective effects against transient cerebral ischemia-induced cognitive impairment in mice. In the present study, we investigated the neuroprotective effects of CTS using primary cultured rat cortical neurons. CTS (250-1000 μg/mL) inhibited neuronal death induced by 100 μM glutamate.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe chloroform extract of the Japanese cypress Chamaecyparis obtusa was found to kill PANC-1 human pancreatic cancer cells preferentially in the nutrient-deprived medium without causing toxicity in the nutrient rich condition. Phytochemical investigation on this extract led to the isolation of a new sesquiterpene (1), together with the six sesquiterpenes (2-7) and a lignan (8). The isolated compounds were tested for their preferential cytotoxicity activity against five different human pancreatic cancer cell lines [PANC-1, MIA PaCa2, CAPAN-1, PSN-1, and KLM-1] by utilizing an antiausterity strategy.
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