title: The n-butanolic extract of Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten enhances long-term memory in the passive avoidance task in mice.
abstract: Opuntia ficus-indica var. saboten Makino (Cactaceae) is used to treat burns, edema, dyspepsia, and asthma in traditional medicine. The present study investigated the beneficial effects of the n-butanolic extract of O. ficus-indica var. saboten (BOF) on memory performance in mice and attempts to uncover the mechanisms underlying its action. Memory performance was assessed with the passive avoidance task, and western blotting and immunohistochemistry were used to measure changes in protein expression and cell survival. After the oral administration of BOF for 7 days, the latency time in the passive avoidance task was significantly increased relative to vehicle-treated controls (P<0.05). Western blotting revealed that the expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), phosphorylated cAMP response element binding-protein (pCREB), and phosphorylated extracellular signal-regulated kinase (pERK) 1/2 were significantly increased in hippocampal tissue after 7 days of BOF administration (P<0.05). Doublecortin and 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine immunostaining also revealed that BOF significantly enhanced the survival of immature neurons, but did not affect neuronal cell proliferation in the subgranular zone of the hippocampal dentate gyrus. These results suggest that the subchronic administration of BOF enhances long-term memory, and that this effect is partially mediated by ERK-CREB-BDNF signaling and the survival of immature neurons.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life Nanopharmaceuticals Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, #1 Hoeki-dong, Dongdeamoon-ku, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Min
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Se Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Park
authors.forename: Seo Yun
authors.initials: SY
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.forename: Hyoung Ja
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.forename: Yong Sup
authors.initials: YS
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Changbae
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jin
authors.forename: Jong Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning / Q000187:drug effects*; D015153:Blotting, Western; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000378:metabolism; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1 / Q000378:metabolism; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3 / Q000378:metabolism; D055495:Neurogenesis / Q000187:drug effects; D009474:Neurons / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism; D029747:Opuntia; D010766:Phosphorylation / Q000187:drug effects; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology*; D018547:Plant Stems; D015398:Signal Transduction / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D017362:Cyclic AMP Response Element-Binding Protein; D010936:Plant Extracts; D019950:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 1; D048052:Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase 3