1. Academic Validation
  2. Mumefural Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion via Regulating the Septohippocampal Cholinergic System and Neuroinflammation

Mumefural Ameliorates Cognitive Impairment in Chronic Cerebral Hypoperfusion via Regulating the Septohippocampal Cholinergic System and Neuroinflammation

  • Nutrients. 2019 Nov 13;11(11):2755. doi: 10.3390/nu11112755.
Jihye Bang 1 2 Min-Soo Kim 1 2 Won Kyung Jeon 1 2
Affiliations

Affiliations

  • 1 Herbal Medicine Research Division, Korea Institute of Oriental Medicine, 1672 Yuseong-daero, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34054; Korea.
  • 2 Convergence Research Center for Diagnosis, Treatment and Care System of Dementia, Korea Institute of Science and Technology, 5 Hwarang-ro 14-gil, Seongbuk-gu, Seoul 02792, Korea.
Abstract

Chronic cerebral hypoperfusion (CCH) causes cognitive impairment and neurogenic inflammation by reducing blood flow. We previously showed that Fructus mume (F. mume) improves cognitive impairment and inhibits neuroinflammation in a CCH rat model. One of the components of F. mume, Mumefural (MF), is known to improve blood flow and inhibit platelet aggregation. Whether MF affects cerebral and cognitive function remains unclear. We investigated the effects of MF on cognitive impairment and neurological function-related protein expression in the rat CCH model, established by bilateral common carotid arterial occlusion (BCCAo). Three weeks after BCCAo, MF (20, 40, or 80 mg/kg) was orally administrated once a day for 42 days. Using Morris water maze assessment, MF treatment significantly improved cognitive impairment. MF treatment also inhibited cholinergic system dysfunction, attenuated choline acetyltransferase-positive cholinergic neuron loss, and regulated cholinergic system-related protein expressions in the basal forebrain and hippocampus. MF also inhibited myelin basic protein degradation and increased the hippocampal expression of synaptic markers and cognition-related proteins. Moreover, MF reduced neuroinflammation, inhibited gliosis, and attenuated the activation of P2X7 receptor, TLR4/MyD88, NLRP3, and NF-κB. This study indicates that MF ameliorates cognitive impairment in BCCAo rats by enhancing neurological function and inhibiting neuroinflammation.

Keywords

Mumefural; chronic cerebral hypoperfusion; cognitive impairment; neuroinflammation.

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