ESP-102, a standardized combined extract of Angelica gigas, Saururus chinensis and Schizandra chinensis, significantly improved scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice.
We assessed the effects of oral treatments of ESP-102, a standardized combined extract of Angelica gigas, Saururus chinensis and Schizandra chinensis, on learning and memory deficit. The cognition-enhancing effect of ESP-102 was investigated in scopolamine-induced (1 mg/kg body weight, s.c.) amnesic mice with both passive avoidance and Morris water maze performance tests. Acute oral treatment (single administration prior to scopolamine treatment) of mice with ESP-102 (doses in the range of 10 to 100 mg/kg body weight) significantly reduced scopolamine-induced memory deficits in the passive avoidance performance test. Another noteworthy result included the fact that prolonged oral daily treatments of mice with much lower amounts of ESP-102 (1 and 10 mg/kg body weight) for ten days reversed scopolamine-induced memory deficits. In the Morris water maze performance test, both acute and prolonged oral treatments with ESP-102 (single administration of 100 mg/kg body weight or prolonged daily administration of 1 and 10 mg/kg body weight for ten days, respectively, significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory deficits as indicated by the formation of long-term and/or short-term spatial memory. In addition, we investigated the effects of ESP-102 on neurotoxicity induced by amyloid-beta peptide (Abeta25-35) or glutamate in primary cultured cortical neurons of rats. Pretreatment of cultures with ESP-102 (0.001, 0.01 and 0.1 mug/ml) significantly protected neurons from neurotoxicity induced by either glutamate or Abeta25-35. These results suggest that ESP-102 may have some protective characteristics against neuronal cell death and cognitive impairments often observed in Alzheimer's disease, stroke, ischemic injury and other neurodegenerative diseases.
Kang
So Young
SY
College of Pharmacy and Research Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Seoul National University, Seoul 151-742, Republic of Korea.
Lee
Ki Yong
KY
Koo
Kyung Ah
KA
Yoon
Jeong Seon
JS
Lim
Song Won
SW
Kim
Young Choong
YC
Sung
Sang Hyun
SH
D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides / Q000633:toxicity; D029969:Angelica; D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D018698:Glutamic Acid / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects; D010446:Peptide Fragments / Q000633:toxicity; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley; D032134:Saururaceae; D032141:Schisandra; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000633:toxicity*
D016229:Amyloid beta-Peptides; C546792:ESP 102; D010446:Peptide Fragments; D010936:Plant Extracts; C074636:amyloid beta-protein (25-35); D018698:Glutamic Acid; D012601:Scopolamine; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase