Experimental Neurobiology  2015;24(1):71-83

doi:10.5607/en.2015.24.1.71

Long-term Treatment with Oriental Medicinal Herb Artemisia princeps Alters Neuroplasticity in a Rat Model of Ovarian Hormone Deficiency.

Hyun Bum KIM 1 ; Byeong Jae KWON ; Hyun Ji CHO ; Ji Won KIM ; Jeong Woo CHON ; Moon Ho DO ; Sang Yong PARK ; Sun Yeou KIM ; Sung Ho MAENG ; Yoo Kyoung PARK ; Ji Ho PARK

Affiliations

+expand

Keywords

Artemisia princeps; Oriental medicine; ovariectomy; long-term depression (LTD); hippocampal synaptic plasticity

Country

Republic of Korea

Language

English

Abstract

Artemisia princeps (AP) is a flowering perennial used as a traditional medicine and dietary supplement across East Asia. No study has yet assessed its effects on synaptic plasticity in hippocampus and much less in a model of ovarian hormone deficiency. We examined the influence of chronic oral AP ethanol extract treatment in ovariectomized rats on the induction of long-term depression in a representative synapse (CA3-CA1) of the hippocampus. Ovariectomized rats demonstrated lower trabecular mean bone mineral densities than sham, validating the establishment of pathology. Against this background of pathology, AP-treated ovariectomized rats exhibited attenuated long-term depression (LTD) in CA1 relative to water-treated controls as measured by increased field excitatory post-synaptic potentials (fEPSP) activation averages over the post-stimulation period. While pathological significance of long-term depression (LTD) in ovariectomized rats is conflicting, that AP treatment significantly affected its induction offers justification for further study of its influences on plasticity and its related disorders.