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Liquiritigenin ameliorates memory and cognitive impairment through cholinergic and BDNF pathways in the mouse hippocampus

Archives of Pharmacal Research volume 40, pages 1209–1217 (2017)Cite this article

Abstract

Liquiritigenin (LQ), a flavonoid extracted from the radix of Glycyrrhiza, has anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. In this study, we evaluated the cognitive enhancing effects of LQ on learning and memory impairments induced by scopolamine (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), a muscarinic antagonist, using the Y-maze, passive avoidance, and novel object recognition tests. A single administration of LQ significantly improved scopolamine-induced cognitive impairments in these behavioral tests. In addition, LQ dramatically inhibited acetylcholinesterase and thiobarbituric acid reactive substance activities in the hippocampus of scopolamine-induced mice in a dose-dependent manner. Furthermore, LQ markedly increased the protein level of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and phosphorylation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) and cAMP response element binding (CREB) in the hippocampus of scopolamine-induced mice. Taken together, our results indicate that LQ may be useful for the treatment of learning and memory impairments, and that the beneficial effects of LQ are mediated, in part, by cholinergic and BDNF/ERK/CREB signaling enhancement and/or protection.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by Grants (NRF-2012R1A5A2A28671860 and NRF-2016R1D1A1A009919739) from the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation (NRF), and this research was also supported by a Grant (HI12C0035) of the Korean Health Technology R&D project, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Korea.

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  1. Department of Pharmacology, School of Pharmacy, Sungkyunkwan University, Suwon, 16419, Republic of Korea

    Yong-Hyun Ko, Seung-Hwan Kwon, Seok-Yong Lee & Choon-Gon Jang

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  1. Yong-Hyun Ko
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  2. Seung-Hwan Kwon
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  3. Seok-Yong Lee
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  4. Choon-Gon Jang
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Correspondence to Choon-Gon Jang.

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Ko, YH., Kwon, SH., Lee, SY. et al. Liquiritigenin ameliorates memory and cognitive impairment through cholinergic and BDNF pathways in the mouse hippocampus. Arch. Pharm. Res. 40, 1209–1217 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-017-0954-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12272-017-0954-6

Keywords

  • Liquiritigenin
  • Scopolamine
  • Brain-derived neurotrophic factor
  • Extracellular signal-regulated kinase
  • cAMP response element binding
  • Alzheimer’s disease