Effect of Alpinia oxyphylla-Schisandra chinensis herb pair on inflammation and apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease mice model

Yu Qi; Xinhui Cheng; Huiting Jing; Tingxu Yan; Feng Xiao; Bo Wu; Kaishun Bi; Ying Jia

doi:10.1016/j.jep.2019.03.029

Effect of Alpinia oxyphylla-Schisandra chinensis herb pair on inflammation and apoptosis in Alzheimer's disease mice model

J Ethnopharmacol. 2019 Jun 12:237:28-38. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.03.029. Epub 2019 Mar 14.

Authors

Yu Qi¹, Xinhui Cheng¹, Huiting Jing¹, Tingxu Yan², Feng Xiao², Bo Wu², Kaishun Bi³, Ying Jia⁴

Affiliations

¹ School of Traditional Chinese Materia Medica, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Wenhua Road 103, Shenyang, 110016, China.
² School of Functional Food and Wine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Wenhua Road 103, Shenyang, 110016, China.
³ School of Pharmacy, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Wenhua Road 103, Shengyang, 110016, China. Electronic address: kaishunbi.syphu@gmail.com.
⁴ School of Functional Food and Wine, Shenyang Pharmaceutical University, Wenhua Road 103, Shenyang, 110016, China. Electronic address: jiayingsyphu@126.com.

PMID: 30880259
DOI: 10.1016/j.jep.2019.03.029

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Alpinia oxyphylla-Schisandra chinensis herb pair (ASHP), composed of Alpinia oxyphylla Miq. Fructus (Yizhi, in Chinese) and Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill Fructus (Wuweizi, in Chinese) has been used in many traditional Chinese prescriptions such as Yizhi Wuwei pill and Jiannao pill.

Aims of the study: This study was primarily dealt with studying the effects of Alpinia oxyphylla-Schisandra chinensis herb pair (ASHP) on learning and cognitive impairment in the Aβ_1-42 induced mouse model.

Materials and methods: The chemical composition quantitative analysis was by UPLC. Then the Y maze and Morris water maze test were used to determine the capability of ASHP extracts on improving memory. Histological changes and apoptotic features were detected by HE staining and TUNEL staining, respectively. qPCR was used to detect the changes in the mRNA of caspase3, caspase8 and caspase9 and western-blot was used to detect the changes in the levels of cleaved-caspase3, cleaved-caspase8 and cleaved-caspase9. The levels of some inflammatory factors such as IKK, IκB and NF-κB; anti-apoptotic factors such as bcl-2, bcl-xl, pro-apoptotic factors including bad, bax, p53 were assessed via immunohistochemistry (IHC) and western-blot.

Results: Administration of ASHP extracts had higher spontaneous alternation ratio in the Y maze, more quadrant dwell time and shorter escape latency compared with model group in the Morris water maze. ASHP treated groups significantly inhibited NF-κB pathway and apoptosis-related pathway in the hippocampus.

Conclusions: This study demonstrated that ASHP had the ability to ameliorate abnormal changes in cognitive behavior, biochemical and histopathology induced by Aβ_1-42 in the mouse model. The powerful role of ASHP is to inhibit the NF-κB inflammatory signaling pathway and cut down the damage of apoptosis. This study revealed ASHP might be a potential therapy for cognitive and behavioral deficits.

Keywords: Alpinia oxyphylla; Alzheimers' disease; Apoptosis; Inflammation; Schisandra chinensis.

MeSH terms

Alpinia*
Alzheimer Disease / drug therapy*
Alzheimer Disease / metabolism
Alzheimer Disease / pathology
Animals
Anti-Inflammatory Agents / therapeutic use*
Apoptosis / drug effects
Cognitive Dysfunction / drug therapy
Cognitive Dysfunction / metabolism
Cognitive Dysfunction / pathology
Disease Models, Animal
Hippocampus / drug effects
Hippocampus / metabolism
Hippocampus / pathology
Male
Maze Learning / drug effects
Mice
NF-kappa B / metabolism
Phytotherapy
Plant Extracts / therapeutic use*
Schisandra*

Substances

Anti-Inflammatory Agents
NF-kappa B
Plant Extracts