Chemical Composition of the Fatty Oil from Fructus Broussonetiae and Its Effects on Rat Plasma Lipids and Adipose Tissue

Context: Broussonetia papyrifera (L.) Vent. (Moraceae), a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, has been extensively applied for many years to treat various diseases. Its fruits (Fructus Broussonetiae) have been commonly used as an important tonic for the treatment of age-related disorders with long history;recent research has proved that it contains 32% to 35% fixed oils. The fixed oil is composed mainly of unsaturated fatty acids, including linoleic acid, methyl palmitate, oleic acid and linoleic acid ester. Objective: To investigate the chemistry of the fatty oil from Fructus Broussonetiae (FOFB) and its effects on plasma lipids. Methods: The chemical composition of FOFB was examined and identified by GC-MS. Thirty male Wistar rats fed diet containing FOFB and cholesterol were studied for 28 days. The effect of dietary FOFB on plasma lipids and adipose tissue was tested. Results: Twelve compounds of FOFB were examined and identified, the major components of fatty oil, 8,11-octadecadienoic acid (83.75%), palmitic acid (10.22%), octadecadienoic acid (2.97%) and 9-octadecenoic acid (1.69%) were found. FOFB significantly exhibited the activities of decreasing the rat adipose tissue weight, triacylglycerol, total cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) concentrations while the rat body weight remained unchanged. Discussion: FOFB contained a large amount of PUFA which had the effect on reducing plasma lipids and adipose.

Neuroprotective Effect of Fructus broussonetiae on APP/PS1 Mice via Upregulation of AKT/β-Catenin Signaling

Objective:To evaluate the mechanisms underlying the protective effect of Chinese herbal medicine Fructus broussonetiae(FB)in both mouse and cell models of Alzheimer’s disease(AD).Methods:APP/PS1 mice treated with FB for 2 months and vehicle-treated controls were run through the Morris water maze and object recognition test to evaluate learning and memory capacity.RNA-Seq,Western blotting,and immunofluorescence staining were also conducted to evaluate the effects of FB treatment on various signaling pathways altered in APP/PS1 mice.To further explore the mechanisms underlying FB’s protective effect,PC-12 cells were treated with Aβ25–35 in order to establish an in vitro model of AD.Results:FB-treated mice showed improved learning and memory capacity on both the Morris water maze and object recognition tests.RNA-seq of hippocampal tissue from APP/PS1 mice showed that FB had effects on multiple signaling pathways,specifically decreasing cell apoptotic signaling and increasing AKT and β-catenin signaling.Similarly,FB up-regulated both AKT and β-catenin signaling in PC-12 cells pre-treated with Aβ25–35,in which AKT positively regulated β-catenin signaling.Further study showed that AKT promoted β-catenin signaling via enhancing β-catenin(Ser552)phosphorylation.Moreover,AKT and β-catenin signaling inhibition both resulted in the attenuated survival of FB-treated cells,indicating the AKT/β-catenin signaling is a crucial mediator in FB promoted cell survival.Conclusions:FB exerted neuroprotective effects on hippocampal cells of APP/PS1 mice,as well as improved cell viability in an in vitro model of AD.The protective actions of FB occurred via the upregulation of AKT/β-catenin signaling.

Fructus Broussonetae extract improves cognitive function and endoplasmic reticulum stress in Alzheimer's disease models

This study investigated the effects and possible targets of Fructus Broussonetiae extract, a traditional Chinese medicinal herb, on a model of Alzheimer＇s disease induced by beta-amyloid peptide 25 35 and D-galactose. The results revealed that intragastric administration of Fructus Broussonetiae significantly increased the expression of immunoglobulin-binding protein, a key factor in the endoplasmic reticulum stress-signaling pathway in rat hippocampus. In contrast, the treatment significantly decreased expression levels of PKR-like endoplasmic reticulum kinase and C/EBP homologous protein, and substantially improved learning, memory and spatial recognition dysfunction in rats. This evidence indicates that Fructus Broussonetiae extract improves spatial learning and memory abilities in rats by affecting the regulation of hippocampal endoplasmic reticulum stress and activation of the apoptosis pathway.