title: Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge Blocks Ethanol-Induced Synaptic Dysfunction through Regulation of NMDA Receptor-Dependent Synaptic Transmission.
abstract: Consumption of high doses of ethanol can lead to amnesia, which often manifests as a blackout. These blackouts experienced by ethanol consumers may be a major cause of the social problems associated with excess ethanol consumption. However, there is currently no established treatment for preventing these ethanol-induced blackouts. In this study, we tested the ethanol extract of the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) for its ability to mitigate ethanol-induced behavioral and synaptic deficits. To test behavioral deficits, an object recognition test was conducted in mouse. In this test, ethanol (1 g/kg, i.p.) impaired object recognition memory, but SM (200 mg/kg) prevented this impairment. To evaluate synaptic deficits, NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) in the mouse hippocampal slices were tested, as they are known to be vulnerable to ethanol and are associated with ethanol-induced amnesia. SM (10 and 100 μg/ml) significantly ameliorated ethanol-induced long-term potentiation and NMDA receptor-mediated EPSP deficits in the hippocampal slices. Therefore, these results suggest that SM prevents ethanol-induced amnesia by protecting the hippocampus from NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity deficits induced by ethanol.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences and Institute of Convergence Bio-Health, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Hye Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Aquatic Biomedical Sciences, School of Marine Biomedical Science, College of Ocean Science, Jeju National University, Jeju 63243, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seungheon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Herbal Medicinal Pharmacology, College of Herbal Bio-industry, Daegu Haany University, Kyungsan 38610, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Ji Wook
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Jung
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences and Institute of Convergence Bio-Health, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Choon
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Chonnam National University Medical School, Jebong-ro, Gwangju 61469, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seong-Min
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Biotechnology, College of Health Sciences and Institute of Convergence Bio-Health, Dong-A University, Busan 49315, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Dong Hyun
authors.initials: DH
authors.lastname: Kim
keywords: Ethanol; NMDA receptor; Salvia miltiorrhiza; Synaptic plasticity