The Water Extract of Dendropanax morbiferus Ameliorates Scopolamine-Induced Cognitive Impairment in Mice

Abstract

Dendropanax morbiferus (DM) has been used in oriental medicine for various diseases such as inflammation, diabetes, and cancer. Several effects of DM have been known by researchers, but there have been no reports of the effects of cognitive impairment. Therefore, in this study examined anti-amnesic activity with its potential mechanism of action using scopolamine induced amnesic C57/BL6N mice. The effect of DM on cognitive impairment improvement on scopolamine-induced memory impairment in mice was evaluated using passive avoidance test and y-maze test. Besides, ELISA and Western Blot analysis were performed to examine several molecular markers such as inflammatory markers, oxidative stress markers, and BDNF signaling that occur in memory damage caused by scopolamine. The administration of DML (100 or 200 mg/kg, p.o.) significantly ameliorated the scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment in the passive avoidance task, the Y-maze. Also, the administration of DM suppressed increased brain inflammatory markers (iNOS, cox-2, IL-1α, IL-6, IFN-α), lipid peroxidation (MDA), and BDNF expression. Current research suggests that DM improves cognitive dysfunction by regulating molecules caused by neuroinflammatory and oxidative damage leading to nerve damage and may have therapeutic potential for cognitive dysfunction.