Galantamine reversed early postoperative cognitive deficit via alleviating inflammation and enhancing synaptic transmission in mouse hippocampus.

Postoperative cognitive dysfunction (POCD) is commonly seen in patients undergoing major surgeries and may persist. Although neuroinflammation is one of the important contributors to the development of POCD, the mechanisms underlying POCD remain unclear. We performed stabilized tibial fracture operation in male mice. In comparison with sham mice (anesthesia only), the surgery mice exhibited cognitive deficits in a fear conditioning paradigm at postsurgery day 3-7, and increased numbers of microglia and elevated levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines (IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α) without change of anti-inflammatory cytokines (IL-4 and IL-10) in the hippocampus. Electrophysiological recordings from CA1 hippocampal neurons revealed that POCD mice exhibited impairment in AMPA receptor-mediated evoked excitatory postsynaptic currents (eEPSCs) without alteration in the rectification property of AMPA receptors. Interestingly, daily intraperitoneal administration of galantamine, an inhibitor of acetylcholinesterase, reversed cognitive dysfunction in surgery mice and attenuated accumulation of microglia and protein levels of IL-1ß, IL-6 and TNF-α in the hippocampus. Additionally, galantamine potentiated AMPA receptor-mediated eEPSCs in the hippocampus more prominent in surgery mice than in sham mice. Therefore, enhancement of cholinergic tone in the hippocampus might be a therapeutic strategy for early POCD in terms of suppression of inflammation and normalization of excitatory synaptic transmission.

Analysis with gas chromatography and mass spectrography of volatile components of Ligusticum wallichii Franch extracted by CO2 supercritical fluid extraction in combination with molecular distillation.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the possibility of using the technique of CO2 supercritical fluid extraction (SFE) combined with molecular distillation (MD) to extract, separate and purify the volatile components of Ligusticum wallichii Franch, a Chinese herbal medicine. METHODS: SFE was employed to extract the volatile components of Ligusticum wallichii Franch, followed by MD of the product. Analysis of the chemical constituents of the extract both before and after MD was performed with gas chromatography (GC) in conjunction with mass spectrography (MS). RESULTS: There were 45 kinds of chemical constituents in the extract of Ligusticum wallichii Franch yielded from SFE, among which 39 were left after distillation by MD. Changes also took place in the content of the constituents in the extract after distillation. CONCLUSIONS: SFE combined with MD, a technique better than simple SFE, can be used to extract, separate and purify the volatile components of Chinese herbs.