Objectives: The ameliorating effects of wild ginseng on learning and memory deficits were investigated in rats.
Methods: Rats were treated daily with wild ginseng or cultivated ginseng for 7 days at 30 min before scopolamine injection (2 mg/kg, i.p.). After inducing cognitive impairment by the administration of scopolamine, behavioural assessment using the Morris water maze was performed. Changes in cholinergic system reactivity were also examined by measuring the immunoreactive neurons of choline acetyltransferase and the reactivity of acetylcholinesterase in the hippocampus.
Key findings: Scopolamine injection induced impaired performance in the water maze test and severe cell losses in hippocampal cholinergic neurons, as indicated by decreased choline acetyltransferase immunoreactivity and increased acetylcholinesterase reactivity. Daily administration of wild ginseng produced a significant improvement in the escape latency for finding the platform in the Morris water maze and reduced the loss of cholinergic immunoreactivity in the hippocampus. The reduced expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor mRNA due to the scopolamine injection was recovered to normal levels by the administration of wild ginseng.
Conclusions: Wild ginseng demonstrates a significant neuroprotective effect against scopolamine-induced neuronal and cognitive impairment.