title: Nootropic, neuroprotective and neurotrophic effects of phloretin in scopolamine induced amnesia in mice.
abstract: Phloretin (PHL), a dihydrochalcone flavonoid usually present in the roots and leaves of apple tree. In vitro study on GT1-7 immortalized hypothalamic neurons exposed to amyloid beta (25-35), demonstrated that PHL significantly influenced membrane fluidity and potential. PHL also significantly decreased excitotoxicity by restoring the calcium homeostasis in the same. Thus, PHL proves to be a promising therapeutic moiety which should be further screened in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the nootropic, neuroprotective and neurotrophic roles of PHL in the subacute scopolamine induced amnesia in mice. In this study, mice were pretreated with PHL 2.5mg/kg, 5mg/kg, 10mg/kg and Donepezil (DON) 1mg/kg intraperitoneally (i.p) for 14days. The last 7days of treatment regimen included daily injection of SCP 1.5mg/kg to induce cognitive deficits. Mice were subjected to behavioral analysis. Biochemical estimation of the brain homogenates for acetylcholinesterase and oxidative stress biomarkers were conducted. Furthermore, immunohistochemical analysis for the brain derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was carried out particularly in the hippocampus. PHL was found to significantly improve the performance of mice in Morris water maze test (P<0.001) and significantly decreased the acetylcholinesterase activity (P<0.001) at all doses compared to SCP treated mice. Also, PHL significantly elevated the activity of antioxidant enzymes viz. superoxide dismutase, catalase, reduced glutathione levels (P<0.001) and decreased malonaldehyde levels (P<0.001) in comparison with the SCP group. Immunohistochemistry revealed that PHL treatment dose dependently improved BDNF levels in the hippocampus which were found to be significantly depleted (P<0.001) in the SCP group. Additionally, PHL (10mg/kg) significantly enhanced the spatial memory formation (P<0.05) and neurotrophicity (P<0.001) compared to DON (1mg/kg). The aforementioned research findings suggested that PHL has nootropic, neuroprotective and neurotrophic activities in SCP induced memory impaired mice and hence, is a promising therapeutic moiety in the treatment of AD.
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Research Laboratory-II, Dept. of Pharm. Sci. & Tech, Institute of Chemical Technology, University under Section 3 of UGC Act- 1956, Elite Status & Centre of Excellence - Govt. of Maharashtra, TEQIP Phase II Funded, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Priya J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Ghumatkar
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Research Laboratory-II, Dept. of Pharm. Sci. & Tech, Institute of Chemical Technology, University under Section 3 of UGC Act- 1956, Elite Status & Centre of Excellence - Govt. of Maharashtra, TEQIP Phase II Funded, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Sachin P
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Patil
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Research Laboratory-II, Dept. of Pharm. Sci. & Tech, Institute of Chemical Technology, University under Section 3 of UGC Act- 1956, Elite Status & Centre of Excellence - Govt. of Maharashtra, TEQIP Phase II Funded, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Pankaj D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Jain
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Research Laboratory-II, Dept. of Pharm. Sci. & Tech, Institute of Chemical Technology, University under Section 3 of UGC Act- 1956, Elite Status & Centre of Excellence - Govt. of Maharashtra, TEQIP Phase II Funded, Mumbai, India.
authors.forename: Rufi M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Tambe
authors.affiliation: Pharmacology Research Laboratory-II, Dept. of Pharm. Sci. & Tech, Institute of Chemical Technology, University under Section 3 of UGC Act- 1956, Elite Status & Centre of Excellence - Govt. of Maharashtra, TEQIP Phase II Funded, Mumbai, India. Electronic address: sadhanasathaye@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sadhana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sathaye
mesh_terms: D000110:Acetylcholinesterase / Q000378:metabolism; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D000647:Amnesia / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D000818:Animals; D000975:Antioxidants / Q000378:metabolism; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000523:psychology; D000077265:Donepezil; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein / Q000378:metabolism; D007189:Indans / Q000494:pharmacology; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D051379:Mice; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000187:drug effects; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D018697:Nootropic Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010693:Phloretin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010880:Piperidines / Q000494:pharmacology; D012601:Scopolamine
chemical_list: D000975:Antioxidants; D019208:Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor; D005904:Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein; D007189:Indans; D018721:Muscarinic Agonists; D018696:Neuroprotective Agents; D018697:Nootropic Agents; D010880:Piperidines; D000077265:Donepezil; D012601:Scopolamine; D000110:Acetylcholinesterase; D010693:Phloretin
keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Brain derived neurotrophic factor; Phloretin; Scopolamine