Therapeutic mechanism of Acorus tatarinowii on Alzheimer's disease / 中国药理学与毒理学杂志

ABSTRACT

Acorus tatarinowii is the dried rhizome of the Araceae plant Acorus tatarinowii Schott.Acorus tata-rinowii was first recorded in Shennong's Classic of Mate-ria Medica.It was used for the treatment of epilepsy,amnesia,insomnia,tinnitus,deafness,silent diarrhea,and other diseases.Alzheimer's disease(AD),also known as senile dementia,is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system.It is mainly manifested as neuropsychiatric symptoms such as progressive memory impairment,cognitive dysfunction,personality changes and language disorders.Acorus tatarinowii mainly con-tains phenylpropylene,lignans,alkaloids,sugars,organic acids and amino acids,among which volatile compo-nents such as β-asarone are the main active compo-nents.The main mechanism of action of Acorus tatari-nowii in the prevention and treatment of AD is as follows① Improve memory ability.Increasing the expression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor(BDNF),extracellular signal-regulated kinase(ERK)and adenosine cyclic phosphate response element binding protein(CREB)can improve cognitive dysfunction.Studies have shown that Acorus tatarinowii can increase the expression of BDNF,ERK,CREB and tyrosine receptor kinase B in the hippo-campus of mice to varying degrees.It can significantly improve the memory ability of memory-impaired mice,so as to achieve the purpose of prevention and treatment of AD.② Anti-oxidative stress.Studies have shown that Acorus tatarinowii can reduce the production of malondi-aldehyde in skeletal muscle,increase superoxide dis-mutase activity and total antioxidant capacity,and repair the balance of oxidative stress.③ Acetylcholinesterase inhibition.The loss of consciousness caused by deficiency of kidney essence in AD patients is related to the patho-logical changes of the cholinergic nervous system.The results showed that Acorus tatarinowii could significantly increase the contents of glutamate and acetylcholine in the cerebral cortex of AD model mice,and decrease the activity of acetylcholinesterase,to achieve the anti-AD effect.④ Anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects.The damage of neurons in the brain of AD patients is related to the excessive inflammatory immune response of nerve cells including microglia and astrocytes.The results showed that Acorus tatarinowii can inhibit the autophagy of microglia in rats with cerebral hemorrhage,and has neuroprotective effect,to achieve the effect of anti-AD.In this study,the effects of Acorus tatarinowii on AD were reviewed to further clarify its pharmacological ef-fects,and to provide a basis for clinical application and research.