Cognitive-Enhancing Effect of Dianthus superbus var. Longicalycinus on Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment in Mice

Dianthus superbus (D. superbus) is a traditional crude drug used for the treatment of urethritis, carbuncles and carcinomas. The objective of this study was to confirm the cognitive enhancing effect of D. superbus in memory impairment induced mice and to elucidate the possible potential mechanism. Effect of D. superbus on scopolamine induced memory impairment on mice was evaluated using the Morris water maze and passive avoidance tests. We also investigated acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and brain-derived neurotropic factor (BDNF) expression in scopolamine-induced mice. HPLC-DAD analysis was performed to identify active compounds in D. superbus. The results revealed that D. superbus attenuated the learning and memory impairment induced by scopolamine. D. superbus also inhibited AChE levels in the hippocampi of the scopolamine-injected mice. Moreover, D. superbus increased BDNF expression in the hippocampus. Eight compounds were identified using HPLC-DAD analysis. The content of 4-hydroxyphenyl acetic acid was higher than contents of other compounds. These results indicated that D. superbus improved memory functioning accompanied by inhibition of AChE and upregulation of BDNF, suggesting that D. superbus may be a useful therapeutic agent for the prevention or treatment of Alzheimer's disease.

Chemical constituents from Dianthus superbus / 中草药

To investigate the chemical constituents of Dianthus superbus. The chemical constituents were isolated from 95% alcohol extract of D. superbus by silica gel column chromatography, Sephadex LH-20 column chromatography, and HPLC. Their chemical structures were elucidated on the basis of 1D NMR and ESI-MS spectroscopic analyses. Nine compounds including three flavanoids, two sterols, three triterpenes, and one γ-lactone were isolated. Their structures were identified as 5-hydroxy-7, 3', 4'-trimethoxyflavanone (1), 5, 3'-dihydroxy-7, 4'-dimethoxyflavanone (2), 5, 4'-dihydroxy-7, 3'-dimethoxyflavanone (3), β-spinasterol (4), sterculin A (5), (24R)-cycloart-25-ene-3β, 24-diol (6), (24S)-cycloart-25-ene-3β, 24-diol (7), stigmast-7-en-3β-ol (8), and hydoxydihydrobovolide (9). Conclusion All the compounds (1-9) are isolated from D. superbu for the first time.