Schisantherin A recovers Aβ-induced neurodegeneration with cognitive decline in mice

Schisantherin A (STA) is a main bioactive lignan isolated from Schisandra chinensis (Turcz.) Baill., which has been widely used as a tonic in traditional Chinese medicine for many years. Lots of studies have reported that STA exhibited anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. This paper was designed to investigate the effects of STA on cognitive function and neurodegeneration in the mouse control of Alzheimer's disease (AD) induced by A beta(1-42). It was found that successive intracerebroventricular (ICV) administration of STA (0.01 and 0.1 mg/kg) for 5 days significantly attenuated A beta(1-42)-induced learning and memory impairment as measured by the Y-maze test, shuttle-box test and Morris water maze test. Furthermore, STA at a dose of 0.1 mg/kg restored the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) as well as the levels of A beta(1-42), malondialdehyde (MDA) and glutathione (GSH) to some extent in the hippocampus and cerebral cortex. It also noticeably improved the histopathological changes in the hippocampus. The results suggested that STA might protect against cognitive deficits, oxidative stress and neurodegeneration induced by A beta(1-42), and serve as a potential agent in treatment of AD. (C) 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.