title: The memory-enhancing effect of erucic acid on scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in mice.
abstract: Erucic acid is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid isolated from the seed of Raphanus sativus L. that is known to normalize the accumulation of very long chain fatty acids in the brains of patients suffering from X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy. Here, we investigated whether erucic acid enhanced cognitive function or ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment using the passive avoidance, Y-maze and Morris water maze tasks. Erucic acid (3mg/kg, p.o.) enhanced memory performance in normal naïve mice. In addition, erucic acid (3mg/kg, p.o.) ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairment, as assessed via the behavioral tasks. We then investigated the underlying mechanism of the memory-enhancing effect of erucic acid. The administration of erucic acid increased the phosphorylation levels of phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), protein kinase C zeta (PKCζ), extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK), cAMP response element-binding protein (CREB) and additional protein kinase B (Akt) in the hippocampus. These results suggest that erucic acid has an ameliorative effect in mice with scopolamine-induced memory deficits and that the effect of erucic acid is partially due to the activation of PI3K-PKCζ-ERK-CREB signaling as well as an increase in phosphorylated Akt in the hippocampus. Therefore, erucic acid may be a novel therapeutic agent for diseases associated with cognitive deficits, such as Alzheimer's disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eunji
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hae Ju
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Ko
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Se Jin
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Jeon
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Sunhee
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung Eun
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ha Neul
authors.initials: HN
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: College of Pharmacy, Chosun University, Gwangju 501-759, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Eun-Rhan
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Woo
authors.affiliation: Department of Life and Nanopharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Kyung Hee East-West Pharmaceutical Research Institute, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea; Oriental Pharmaceutical Science, College of Pharmacy, Kyung Hee University, Seoul 130-701, Republic of Korea. Electronic address: jhryu63@khu.ac.kr.
authors.forename: Jong Hoon
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Ryu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000517:prevention & control*; D004883:Erucic Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning; D008568:Memory / Q000187:drug effects*; D051379:Mice; D008813:Mice, Inbred ICR; D012601:Scopolamine / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D004883:Erucic Acids; C049811:erucic acid; D012601:Scopolamine
keywords: Cognitive function; Erucic acid; Extracellular signal-regulated kinase; Phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase; Protein kinase C zeta; cAMP response element-binding protein