Studies have shown that Cistanche can significantly improve memory, including normal people, patients with memory impairment caused by drug abuse, patients with memory impairment caused by poisoning, and patients with memory impairment caused by excessive drinking. Cistanche can improve the memory of patients with vascular dementia caused by cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and enhance the memory impairment caused by hydrocortisone.
Years of research has found that Cistanche can improve memory in four ways:
1. Protect nerve cells and inhibit nerve cell apoptosis;
2. Promote the growth and repair of nerve cells;
3. Increase the release of neurotransmitters in the brain;
4. Improve cerebral circulation.
Recent studies have shown that the neuroprotective effect of Cistanche makes it an "ideal candidate" for improving neurological diseases. Cistanche cistanche is rich in echinacosides. The extract of cistanche has been shown to induce nerve growth factor synthesis in vivo and in vitro experiments, promote the secretion of related factors in the brain, and improve a series of brain functions related to memory.
Anti Alzheimer's disease
The main lesion of Alzheimer's disease is in the cerebral cortex, which is a degenerative disease of the central nervous system with progressive cognitive impairment and memory impairment as the main clinical manifestations. In patients with Alzheimer's disease, the cerebral cortex shrinks, the brain volume shrinks, the brain sulcus widens, and the ventricles expand. The most characteristic pathological feature is senile plaques (SPs) formed by the deposition of amyloid β-peptide (Aβ) outside the cerebral cortex and hippocampal neurons. They are mainly distributed in the cortex and are dense extracellular deposits. Its main component is composed of 39-43 amino acids) and abnormal aggregation of tau protein in brain neurons forms neurofibrillary tangle (NFT).
Cistanche glycosides (glycoside of cistanche, GC) can improve the learning and memory level of patients with Alzheimer's disease, reduce the content of malondialdehyde (MDA) in brain tissue, and increase glutathione peroxidase (GSH). -Px), superoxide dismutase (superoxide dismutase, SOD) activity, reduce acetylcholine esterase (acetylcholine esterase, TChE) activity, brain cell apoptosis rate, and reduce calcium accumulation in brain tissue. The mechanism is that the total glycosides of cistanche enhances the activity of free radical scavenging enzymes, reduce the lipid peroxidation reaction, reduce the calcium content of brain tissue, and inhibits the apoptosis of brain cells induced by QA; the mechanism of action is also related to the antioxidant activity of the total glycosides of cistanche. The total glycosides of cistanche can also have a good protective effect on the ultrastructure of the hippocampus in patients with Alzheimer's disease. The total glycosides of cistanche can delay aging and prevent and treat Alzheimer's disease through an antioxidant mechanism.
Cistanche extract can increase the protein expression levels of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) α3 and α7 receptor subunits in SH-SY5Y cells, and resist the levels of α3 and α7 receptor subunits caused by Aβ25-35 The reduction of Aβ can reduce the cell damage and the increase of lipid peroxidation level caused by Aβ; it can also promote the axon growth of pheochromocytoma (PC12) cells in patients with Alzheimer's disease, and increase the brain of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The level of nerve growth factor (NGF) in glioma (Giiomas, C6) cells, as well as the hippocampal axon growth, neuronal differentiation, and synapse formation in the hippocampus of patients with Alzheimer's disease, and can stimulate Alzheimer's The secretion of NGF in the cerebral cortex and hippocampus of patients with Alzheimer's disease significantly improves the learning and memory ability of patients with Alzheimer's disease. These effects show that the Chinese medicine Cistanche extract is an excellent product for treating Alzheimer's disease.
Echinacoside (echinacoside), the highest content of cistanche phenethyl alcohol glycosides (PhG), can significantly increase the total protein content and total antioxidant capacity of brain tissue, reduce acetylcholinesterase activity and serum interleukin-2 (IL- 2) Content: Verbascoside, the main component of Cistanche phenoxyethanol glycosides, has a protective effect on SH-SY5Y cytotoxicity caused by Aβ25-35, which can significantly improve cell survival, reduce cell apoptosis and the production of reactive oxygen species, and inhibit cells The release of pigment c, the decrease of mitochondrial membrane potential and the clearance of caspase -3; the effects of tubulin B and echinacoside on tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) -α) SH-SY5Y nerve cell apoptosis induced by SH-SY5Y has a cytoprotective effect. The above studies suggest that these monomer compounds may become a good drug for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease.
Anti-Parkinson's disease
Parkinson's disease is a chronic progressive disease with extrapyramidal dysfunction in the central nervous system. This disease is more common in middle-aged and elderly people. Patients with Parkinson's disease have a series of clinical symptoms, such as muscle stiffness, dyskinesia, postural disturbance, etc.
Phenylethanoid glycoside extract in Cistanche deserticola can significantly improve the composition of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine, MPTP)-induced PD model C57 mice behavioral characteristics, increase the substantia nigra tyrosine hydroxylase (tyrosine hydroxylase, TH) up to and DA content in the striatum of patients with Parkinson's disease. In addition, the cistanche phenyl ethanol glycoside extract has a good inhibitory effect on the decline of cerebellar granule cell viability in patients with Parkinson's disease and prevents the MPP+ induced cell apoptosis of cerebellar granule neurons by inhibiting the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8. Death, exert its anti-apoptotic effect.
Echinacoside can improve the behavioral defects of MPTP-induced PD model mice, increase the striatal dopamine (DA) metabolite 3,4-dihydroxypheny lacetic acid (3,4-dihydroxypheny lacetic acid, DOPAC), and high Vanillic acid (homovanillic acid, HVA) content significantly inhibits the apoptosis of cerebellar granule neurons caused by the activation of caspase-3 and caspase-8; reduces the overexpression of biliverdin reductase B in the brain of Parkinson's patients, suggesting Echinacoside may reduce the increase of biliverdin reductase B caused by oxidative stress through its anti-oxidative stress effect, and protect dopaminergic neurons from oxidative stress damage. Its neuroprotective mechanism may be similar to that of bile Decreased levels of chlorophyll reductase B are related; the reduction of dopaminergic neurons and dopamine transporters in the substantia nigra of the brain of patients with Parkinson's disease, and can enhance neurotrophic factor [neurotrophic factor, NTF. brain-derived neurotrophic factor, BDNF) and nerves The activity and protein expression level of glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) derived from glial cell line can reduce the ratio of mRNA and protein in apoptosis and Bax/Bcl-2. In addition, echinacoside can significantly increase the content of dopamine, DOPAC, and HVA in the extracellular fluid of the striatum of patients with Parkinson's disease.
Acteoside can significantly improve the behavioral performance of patients with Parkinson's disease, increase the content of dopamine transmitters and the number of dopaminergic neurons, and the level of a-synuclein protein in the substantia nigra striatum. Verbascum glycosides can induce SH in rotenone -SY5Y cell injury has a neuroprotective effect, and its mechanism of action is related to reducing the degradation of Parkinson's disease-related proteins and inhibiting the formation of α-synuclein dimers; verbascoside can reduce the SH-SY5Y injury induced by the neurotoxin MPP+ The level of reactive oxygen species, increase the expression level of Bcl-2, and reduce the activity of caspase-3 indicate that the compound can effectively inhibit the apoptosis of SH-SY5Y cells. The mechanism of action is to reduce the level of intracellular reactive oxygen species and inhibit caspase-3. Activity is related to maintaining the high-energy state of mitochondrial membrane potential; verbascoside can also have obvious cytoprotective effects on brain cell apoptosis in patients with Parkinson's disease, and can effectively resist Parkinson's disease.
The monomer compound campneoside II in Cistanche has obvious cytoprotective effects on cerebellar granule cell apoptosis in patients with Parkinson's disease. Tubuloside B has a good inhibitory effect on brain cell apoptosis and anti-oxidative stress in patients with Parkinson's disease. This compound may be used in the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
