Protective effect of stilbenes containing extract-fraction from Cajanus cajan L. on Aβ25–35-induced cognitive deficits in mice

Abstract Cajanus cajan (L.) is a traditional Chinese herb medicine which contains a lot of potential active components. In the present study, we identified the effects of the stilbenes containing extract-fraction from C. cajan L. (sECC) on Aβ 25–35 -induced cognitive deficits, oxidative stress and cholinergic dysfunction in mice. Mice were treated with sECC (100 and 200 mg/kg/d) for 1-week, and then received a single intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) injection of Aβ 25–35 (5 μg/mice). Behavioral changes and neuron apoptosis in mice were evaluated using Morris water maze and TUNEL tests. Furthermore, superoxide dismutase (SOD), choline acetyl transferase (ChAT) and acetylcholine esterase (AchE) activity in hippocampus and cortex were analyzed by spectrophotometric method. The data showed that consumption of sECC (200 mg/kg) significantly ameliorated the cognitive deficits and neuron apoptosis caused by i.c.v. injection of Aβ 25–35 . At the same time, the decreased SOD and ChAT activity in hippocampus and cortex were markedly increased by sECC (200 mg/kg). sECC has no effect on AchE activity in hippocampus and cortex. These findings suggest that sECC may be a potential candidate for the development of therapeutic agents to manage cognitive impairment associated with Alzheimer's disease (AD) through increasing the activity of ChAT and anti-oxidative mechanism.