The purpose of this study was to examine whether ginsenoside Rg3 (GRg3) could improve learning and memory impairments and inflammatory reactions induced by injecting lipopolysaccharide (LPS) into the brains of rats. The effects of GRg3 on proinflammatory mediators in the hippocampus and the underlying mechanisms of these effects were also investigated. Injection of LPS into the lateral ventricle caused chronic inflammation and produced deficits in learning in a memory-impairment animal model. Daily administration of GRg3 (10, 20, and 50 mg/kg, i.p.) for 21 consecutive days markedly improved the LPS-induced learning and memory disabilities demonstrated on the step-through passive avoidance test and Morris water maze test. GRg3 administration significantly decreased expression of pro-inflammatory mediators such as tumor necrosis factor-alpha, interleukin-1beta, and cyclooxygenase-2 in the hippocampus, as assessed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis and immunohistochemistry. Together, these findings suggest that GRg3 significantly attenuated LPS-induced cognitive impairment by inhibiting the expression of pro-inflammatory mediators in the rat brain. These results suggest that GRg3 may be effective for preventing or slowing the development of neurological disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, by improving cognitive and memory functions due to its anti-inflammatory activity in the brain.
Alzheimer Disease ; Animals ; Brain ; Cyclooxygenase 2 ; Hippocampus ; Immunohistochemistry ; Inflammation ; Interleukin-1beta ; Lateral Ventricles ; Learning* ; Memory* ; Models, Animal ; Nervous System Diseases ; Rats* ; Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha ; Water

Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated administration of the exogenous stress hormone corticosterone (CORT) induces dysregulation in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and results in depression and anxiety. The current study sought to verify the impact of catechin (CTN) administration on chronic CORT-induced behavioral alterations using the forced swimming test (FST) and the elevated plus maze (EPM) test. Additionally, the effects of CTN on central noradrenergic systems were examined by observing changes in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) immunoreactivity in rat brains. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg CTN (i.p.) 1 h prior to a daily injection of CORT for 21 consecutive days. The activation of the HPA axis in response to the repeated CORT injections was confirmed by measuring serum levels of CORT and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor (CRF) in the hypothalamus. Daily CTN administration significantly decreased immobility in the FST, increased open-arm exploration in the EPM test, and significantly blocked increases of TH expression in the locus coeruleus (LC). It also significantly enhanced the total number of line crossing in the open-field test (OFT), while individual differences in locomotor activities between experimental groups were not observed in the OFT. Taken together, these findings indicate that the administration of CTN prior to high-dose exogenous CORT significantly improves helpless behaviors, possibly by modulating the central noradrenergic system in rats. Therefore, CTN may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression and anxiety disorders.
Animals ; Anxiety ; Anxiety Disorders ; Axis, Cervical Vertebra ; Brain ; Catechin* ; Corticosterone* ; Depression* ; Humans ; Hypothalamus ; Individuality ; Locus Coeruleus ; Male ; Models, Animal* ; Motor Activity ; Neurons ; Physical Exertion ; Rats* ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase

Baicalein (BA), a plant-derived active flavonoid present in the root of Scutellaria baicalensis, has been widely used for the treatment of stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders including depression. Previous studies have demonstrated that repeated restraint stress disrupts the activity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, resulting in depression. The behavioral and neurochemical basis of the BA effect on depression remain unclear. The present study used the forced swimming test (FST) and changes in brain neurotransmitter levels to confirm the impact of BA on repeated restraint stress-induced behavioral and neurochemical changes in rats. Male rats received 10, 20, or 40 mg/kg BA (i.p.) 30 min prior to daily exposure to repeated restraint stress (2 h/day) for 14 days. Activation of the HPA axis in response to repeated restraint stress was confirmed by measuring serum corticosterone levels and the expression of corticotrophin-releasing factor in the hypothalamus. Daily BA administration significantly decreased the duration of immobility in the FST, increased sucrose consumption, and restored the stress-related decreases in dopamine concentrations in the hippocampus to near normal levels. BA significantly inhibited the stress-induced decrease in neuronal tyrosine hydroxylase immunoreactivity in the ventral tegmental area and the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) mRNA in the hippocampus. Taken together, these findings indicate that administration of BA prior to the repeated restraint stress significantly improves helpless behaviors and depressive symptoms, possibly by preventing the decrease in dopamine and BDNF expression. Thus, BA may be a useful agent for the treatment or alleviation of the complex symptoms associated with depression.
Animals ; Brain ; Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor ; Corticosterone ; Depression ; Dopamine ; Flavanones* ; Hippocampus ; Hypothalamus ; Male ; Neurons ; Neurotransmitter Agents ; Rats* ; RNA, Messenger ; Physical Exertion ; Scutellaria baicalensis ; Sucrose ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase ; Ventral Tegmental Area

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a well-known neurodegenerative disease caused by dopaminergic cell death in the nigrostriatal pathway. Recent studies have shown that acupuncture can be a potential therapy for the treatment of PD, but it is not clear which acupuncture points (acupoints) play major roles in reliving symptoms of PD. Yanglingquan (GB 34), Zusanli (ST 36), Fengfu (GV 16), Taichong (LR 3), Baihui (GV 20) and Dazhui (GV 14) acupoints have frequently been to investigate the effectiveness and action mechanism of acupuncture for treating PD, but it is not clear why they were selected. This review summarizes the current understanding of the acupoints for PD treatment based on Oriental medicine theories and on the accumulated findings from previous animal studies. The results of this study will be useful to development of a strategy for future research in this field.
Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Disease Models, Animal ; Humans ; Parkinson Disease ; therapy

OBJECTIVESTo clarify the effects of acupuncture stimulation at Zusanli (ST 36) on the hormonal changes.

METHODSEight-week-old male C57BL/6 mice received acupuncture stimulation at acupoint ST 36 or Quchi (LI 11) once a day for 3 or 5 days in the acupuncture-stimulated groups, but not received in the normal group (n=6 in each group). On day 3 or 5, animals were given 0.1 mL of charcoal orally with a bulbed steel needle, 30 min after the last acupuncture stimulation. Ten minutes later, mice were anesthetized, and the intestinal transit and the concentrations of vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP), motilin, ghrelin and gastrin in the serum were measured.

RESULTSCompared to no acupuncture stimulation, acupuncture stimulation at ST 36 for 5 days increased the intestinal transit and down-regulated the concentration of VIP and up-regulated the concentrations of motilin, ghrelin and gastrin (P<0.05 or 0.01), whereas acupuncture stimulation at LI 11 did not change them signifificantly (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONAcupuncture stimulation at ST 36 for 5 days enhances the small intestinal motility and regulates the secretion of hormones related to small intestinal motility.

Acupuncture Points ; Acupuncture Therapy ; Animals ; Gastrointestinal Motility ; physiology ; Hormones ; blood ; Intestine, Small ; physiology ; Male ; Mice, Inbred C57BL