Cognition improving effect of the compositions prepared with extracts of Wongam, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench and pupae of Bombyx mori L.

Abstract

Dementia including Alzheimer’s disease, is a severe neurodegenerative disorder characterized by progressive cognitive deficits as major symptom. The compositions (BBGS171) including extracts from root of Wongam (a Glycyrriza cultivar), seed of Sorghum bicolor (L.) pupae of Moench and Bombyx mori L. was selected based on preliminary experiments on the ability to improve cognition function in vitro. BBGS171 showed inhibitory activity on cholinesterases, such as acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuchE) and inhibited nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-treated BV2 cells (a microglial cell line). The Y-maze test and passive avoidance test (PAT) were used to evaluate the behavior of an animal model of scopolamine-induced cognitive impairment. Rats administered BBGS171 (EM, extract mixture) in the diet showed better spontaneous alteration and escape latency than those of control rats. Levels of hippocampal choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) and serum acetylcholine (ACh) were significantly higher in the BBGS171 diet group than in the control group. Expression levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) 1/2 in the hippocampus of the BBGS171 diet group were also higher than those of control group. These results suggest that BBGS171 (EM) could ameliorate cognition impairment and showed potential as a useful functional material.