1. Centella Asiatica Improves Memory and Promotes Antioxidative Signaling in 5XFAD Mice
- Author
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Kirsten M. Wright, Maya Caruso, Christopher J Harris, Jennifer Y. Zhu, Nora E. Gray, Amala Soumyanath, Charles F. Murchison, Donald G. Matthews, and Joseph F. Quinn
- Subjects
0301 basic medicine ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Centella asiatica ,Antioxidant ,antioxidant ,Physiology ,medicine.medical_treatment ,mouse model ,Clinical Biochemistry ,SOD1 ,medicine.disease_cause ,Biochemistry ,Article ,NRF2 ,memory ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,neuritic dystrophy ,Memory improvement ,Internal medicine ,Gene expression ,medicine ,Hippocampus (mythology) ,oxidative stress ,Prefrontal cortex ,Molecular Biology ,cognitive function ,5XFAD ,Centella ,biology ,business.industry ,Cell Biology ,biology.organism_classification ,3. Good health ,030104 developmental biology ,Endocrinology ,business ,Alzheimer’s disease ,030217 neurology & neurosurgery ,Oxidative stress - Abstract
Centella asiatica (CA) herb is a traditional medicine, long reputed to provide cognitive benefits. We have reported that CA water extract (CAW) treatment improves cognitive function of aged Alzheimer&rsquo, s disease (AD) model Tg2576 and wild-type (WT) mice, and induces an NRF2-regulated antioxidant response in aged WT mice. Here, CAW was administered to AD model 5XFAD female and male mice and WT littermates (age: 7.6 +/ &minus, 0.6 months), and object recall and contextual fear memory were tested after three weeks treatment. CAW&rsquo, s impact on amyloid-&beta, plaque burden, and markers of neuronal oxidative stress and synaptic density, was assessed after five weeks treatment. CAW antioxidant activity was evaluated via nuclear transcription factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2 (NRF2) and NRF2-regulated antioxidant response element gene expression. Memory improvement in both genders and genotypes was associated with dose-dependent CAW treatment without affecting plaque burden, and marginally increased synaptic density markers in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. CAW treatment increased Nrf2 in hippocampus and other NRF2 targets (heme oxygenase-1, NAD(P)H quinone dehydrogenase 1, glutamate-cysteine ligase catalytic subunit). Reduced plaque-associated SOD1, an indicator of oxidative stress, was observed in the hippocampi and cortices of CAW-treated 5XFAD mice. We postulate that CAW treatment leads to reduced oxidative stress, contributing to improved neuronal health and cognition.
- Published
- 2019