ABSTRACT
We performed a transient bilateral common carotid artery occlusion on rats and investigated whether feeding an aqueous extract of Mycoleptodonoides aitchisonii, an edible mushroom, affected metabolism of monoamines in the cerebral cortex, possibly protecting against ischemic damage. Seventeen days after the surgery, concentrations of the dopamine (DA) metabolite 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (DOPAC) and of homovanillic acid (HVA) in the cerebral cortex of the M. aitchisonii-fed group (MV) were higher than in the control ischemia (CV) group. The turnover rate of DA, which was indicated by (DOPAC+HVA)/DA, for the CV group was significantly lower than for the MV group, and the MV group value was the same rate as the sham-operated group. These data indicate that M. aitchisonii affects the dopaminergic neuronal system following brain ischemia damage in the cerebral cortex.
Subject(s)
Biological Products/pharmacology , Brain Ischemia/drug therapy , Cerebral Cortex/drug effects , Dopamine/metabolism , Homovanillic Acid/metabolism , Ischemic Attack, Transient/drug therapy , Polyporales , Agaricales , Animals , Biological Products/therapeutic use , Brain Ischemia/etiology , Brain Ischemia/metabolism , Carotid Artery Injuries/complications , Cerebral Cortex/metabolism , Ischemic Attack, Transient/etiology , Ischemic Attack, Transient/metabolism , Male , Rats , Rats, WistarABSTRACT
Fourteen days pregnant Wistar strain rats were fed powder or aqueous extract of the edible fungus MycoleptFodonoides aitchisonii. Nerve growth factor (NGF) concentrations were measured in the brain of newborn rats during the lactation period at 0, 7 and 14 days after the birth. Two M. aitchisonii-fed groups showed a significant increase in NGF concentrations in brain halves compared to those who were fed control feed at days 7 and 14. At day 21, NGF concentrations in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus were not significantly different among the three groups. After weaning, the young rats were fed the same test diet as their mothers. Ten days later, Morris water maze test was started. After the test, the rats were sacrificed and NGF concentrations in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus were measured. Significant NGF concentration increases were detected in the cerebral cortex for two M. aitchisonii-fed groups and in the hippocampus in the aqueous extract group. These results suggest that NGF in the brain reached the same levels by day 21, but that M. aitchisonii affected the growth rate in the lactation period. The learning test stimulated the brain and some compounds of M. aitchisonii enhanced NGF synthesis in rat cerebral cortex and hippocampus.
