eCAM Advance Access published online on April 24, 2009
eCAM, doi:10.1093/ecam/nep028
The Neuroprotective Effect of Methanol Extract of Gagamjungjihwan and Fructus Euodiae on Ischemia-Induced Neuronal and Cognitive Impairment in the Rat
1Acupuncture and Meridian Scientific Research Center, Kyung Hee University, Seoul, 2Department of Internal Medicine, Won Kwang University Chonju Oriental Hospital, Chonju, 3Department of Biomedical Engineering, Kyung Hee University, Suwon and 4Department of Integrative Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, South Korea
Gagamjungjihwan (GJ), a decoction consisting of five herbs including ginseng, Acori Graminei Rhizoma, Uncariae Ramulus et Uncus, Polygalae Radic and Frustus Euodiae (FE), has been widely used as herbal treatment for ischemia. In order to investigate the neuroprotective action of this novel prescription, we examined the influence of GJ and FE on learning and memory using the Morris water maze and studied their affects on the central cholinergic system in the hippocampus with neuronal and cognitive impairment. After middle cerebral artery occlusion was applied for 2 h, rats were administered GJ (200 mg kg–1, p.o.) or FE (200 mg kg–1, p.o.) daily for 2 weeks, followed by training and performance of the Morris water maze tasks. Rats with ischemic insults showed impaired learning and memory of the tasks. Pre-treatment with GJ and FE produced improvement in the escape latency to find the platform. Pre-treatments with GJ and FE also reduced the loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity in the hippocampus. The results demonstrated that GJ and FE have a protective effect against ischemia-induced neuronal and cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that GJ and FE might be useful in the treatment of vascular dementia.
Keywords: central cholinergic system – Fructus Euodiae (FE) – Gagamjungjihwan (GJ) – ischemia – learning and memory
For reprints and all correspondence: Insop Shim, PhD, Department of Integrative Medicine, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-Dong, Seocho-Ku, Seoul 137-701, South Korea. Tel: +82-2-2258-7385; Fax: +82-2-592-6359; E-mail: ishim{at}catholic.ac.kr
Received December 12, 2007; accepted March 12, 2009