Abstract
A traditional herb ("Toki-shakuyaku-san" or TJ-23) has been reported to cause clinical improvement in patients with Alzheimer's dementia. To investigate possible neuronal mechanisms, we looked at its effect on cholinergic functions in the cortex, hippocampus, striatum, midbrain, pons-medulla oblongata, and cerebellum of rats. In the aged (compared with the adult) rat brain, we found that choline acetyltransferase (CAT) activity was decreased in the cortex and striatum; acetylcholinesterase activity was decreased in the hippocampus, mid-brain and pons-medulla oblongata and increased in the striatum; and muscarinic receptor binding was increased in the cortex and striatum. In the striatum of aged rats, TJ-23 resulted in increased choline acetyltransferase activity, muscarinic receptor binding, and acetylcholinesterase activity. TJ-23 has a significant effect on cholinergic function in the striatum of aged rats.
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