PMC-12, a Prescription of Traditional Korean Medicine, Improves Amyloid β -Induced Cognitive Deficits through Modulation of Neuroinflammation

Abstract EN

PMC-12 is a prescription used in traditional Korean medicine that consists of a mixture of four herbal medicines, Polygonum multiflorum, Rehmannia glutinosa, Polygala tenuifolia, and Acorus gramineus, which have been reported to have various pharmacological effects on age-related neurological diseases.

In the present study, we investigated whether PMC-12 improves cognitive deficits associated with decreased neuroinflammation in an amyloid-β-(Aβ-) induced mouse model and exerts the antineuroinflammatory effects in lipopolysaccharide-(LPS-) stimulated murine BV2 microglia.

Intracerebroventricular injection of A β 25 - 35 in mice resulted in impairment in learning and spatial memory, whereas this was reversed by oral administration of PMC-12 (100 and 500 mg/kg/day) in dose-dependent manners.

Moreover, PMC-12 reduced the increase of Aβ expression and activation of microglia and astrocytes in the A β 25 - 35 -injected brain.

Furthermore, quantitative PCR data showed that inflammatory mediators were significantly decreased by administration of PMC-12 in Aβ-injected brains.

Consistent with the in vivo data, PMC-12 significantly reduced the inflammatory mediators in LPS-stimulated BV2 cells without cell toxicity.

Moreover, PMC-12 exhibited anti-inflammatory properties via downregulation of ERK, JNK, and p38 MAPK pathways.

These findings suggest that the protective effects of PMC-12 may be mediated by its antineuroinflammatory activities, resulting in the attenuation of memory impairment; accordingly, PMC-12 may be useful in the prevention and treatment of AD.