Alpha-mangostin attenuates brain inflammation induced by peripheral lipopolysaccharide administration in C57BL/6J mice.

Neuroinflammation is an important feature in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases. Molecules with anti-inflammatory properties have been evaluated in animal models of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration as an adjuvant therapeutic strategy. In the present study we have demonstrated that alpha-mangostin (α-MG), a natural xanthone purified from mangosteen pericarp, reduced brain levels of pro-inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and 18 kDa translocator protein (TSPO) in an animal model of peripheral LPS-induced neuroinflammation. We think that evaluation of α-MG as an adjuvant treatment in preclinical models of AD, PD, multiple sclerosis and other diseases with known shared pathology merits further consideration.

Prolame ameliorates anxiety and spatial learning and memory impairment induced by ovariectomy in rats.

N-(3-hydroxy-1, 3, 5 (10) estratrien-17beta-yl)-3-hydroxypropylamine (17ß aminoestrogen, prolame) is a steroidal compound with weak estrogen-related trophic-proliferative effects in uterus. Contrasting with 17ß-estradiol (E2) pro-coagulant effects, this compound has high anticoagulant and antiplatelet effects. It has been extensively demonstrated that E2 plays important roles in brain function. However, prolame's influence on central nervous system has not been documented. In this study, we evaluated the effects of prolame replacement in young ovariectomized rats on spatial learning and memory and anxiety, correlating pyramidal cell dendritic spine density changes and neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS) expression in the hippocampus. Ovariectomized young rats were treated with prolame for 4 weeks. Three other groups were used as physiological, pathological, and pharmacological references as follow: gonadally intact cycling females, ovariectomized, and ovariectomized with 17ß-estradiol treatment respectively, for the same time period. Experiment 1 investigated the behavioral effects of prolame on anxiety and spatial learning using elevated plus maze (EPM) and Morris water maze (MWM) paradigms respectively. Experiment 2 studied the dendritic spine density and neuronal nitric oxide synthase expression in the hippocampus of the 4 experimental groups. Similar to estradiol, prolame reversed the anxiogenic effects of ovariectomy, evaluated by EPM, and enhanced MWM performance to the level of gonadally intact subjects. Hippocampi from prolame-treated rats exhibited enhanced nNOS immunoreactivity and its relocation in dendritic compartments, as well as recovery of dendritic spine density loss in pyramidal neurons. Hence, prolame may provide an alternative option for ameliorating neurological symptoms caused by surgical menopause.