title: Fructus mume extracts alleviate cognitive impairments in 5XFAD transgenic mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Fructus mume (F. mume) has been used as a traditional treatment for ulcer, cough, and digestive problems for many years in Asian countries. Previous studies have demonstrated that F. mume extracts alleviate cognitive deficits in rats with chronic cerebral hypoperfusion and in mice with scopolamine treatments. The present experiment was conducted to examine the effects of F. mume on cognitive impairments in 5XFAD transgenic mice with five familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) mutations.
  
  
  METHODS
  F. mume was administered daily to 5XFAD mice at 12 weeks of age and continued for 90 days. Cognitive function was evaluated using a spatial memory version of the Morris water maze task, the object/location novelty recognition test, and contextual fear conditioning at 24 weeks of age. To elucidate the possible mechanisms underlying the memory improving effects of F. mume in 5XFAD mice, we examined alterations in hippocampal cholinergic function.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Vehicle-treated 5XFAD mice exhibited hippocampus-dependent memory impairments compared with non-transgenic littermates, which was reversed in F. mume-treated 5XFAD mice. In addition, reduced hippocampal choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) levels in 5XFAD mice were reversed by F. mume treatment, indicating that F. mume enhances the effects of cholinergic neuronal function.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  F. mume may have therapeutic effects on cognitive impairments in AD.
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jung-Cheol
authors: JC
authors: Park
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea.
authors: Jinhua
authors: J
authors: Ma
authors: Herbal Medicine Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, Daejeon, 305-811, Republic of Korea. wkjeon@kiom.re.kr.
authors: Won Kyung
authors: WK
authors: Jeon
authors: Department of Biological Sciences, Konkuk University, 1 Hwayang-dong, Gwangjin-gu, Seoul, 143-701, Republic of Korea. jshan06@konkuk.ac.kr.
authors: Jung-Soo
authors: JS
authors: Han
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease; D000818:Animals; D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase / Q000378:metabolism; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D005638:Fruit / Q000737:chemistry; D006624:Hippocampus / Q000201:enzymology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D018782:Maze Learning / Q000187:drug effects; D008822:Mice, Transgenic; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D027861:Prunus
chemical_list: D002795:Choline O-Acetyltransferase