Effect And Potential Mechanisms Of Inonotus Obliquus On Vascular Dementia Rats

Objective: To observe the protective effect and potential mechanisms of Inonotusobliquus on Vascular dementia rats.Methods:100male Wistar rats(250±30g) were randomly divided into six groups afterVD modeling. The Control group and Model group were given0.5%sodium carboxymethylcellulose1ml/100g(ig.), the Inonotus obliquus(IO) groups were given Inonotus obliquus0.5,1.0,2.0g/kg respectively and the positive drug group was given Piracetam tablets (PT)0.5g/kg(ig.).After8weeks of intragastric administration, the rats were tested by Morris water mazetest, then all rats were sacrificed, and histopathological changes, oxidative stress-relatedbiochemical parameters and cholinergic system-related enzymes were investigated.1.Results of Morris water maze test:⑴Compared with the Model group, the latency, swimming distance, starting angel andaverage velocity of IO(0.5g/kg) group have no significant changes from the2ndto6thday.On the7thday, total swimming distance, average velocity, times of crossing platform, timeof staying on platform, distance of staying on platform, times of crossing effective area, timeof staying in effective area, distance of staying in effective area, time of staying onplatform/total time, distance of staying on platform/total distance, time of staying in effectivearea/total time, distance of staying in effective area/total distance have no significantchanges.⑵Compared with the Model group, the latency, swimming distance of IO(1.0g/kg)group rats significantly decreased(P<0.05); while the starting angel and average velocityhave no significant changes from the2ndto6thday. On the7thday, total swimming distance,average velocity, time of staying on platform, distance of staying on platform, time ofstaying on platform/total time, distance of staying on platform/total distance, have nosignificant changes; while the times of crossing platform, times of crossing effective area,time of staying in effective area, distance of staying in effective area, time of staying in effective area/total time, distance of staying in effective area/total distance significantlyincreased(P<0.05).⑶Compared with the Model group, the latency and swimming distance of IO(2.0g/kg)group rats significantly decreased(P<0.05, P<0.01); while the starting angel and averagevelocity have no significant changes from the2ndto6thday. On the7thday, total swimmingdistance, average velocity, times of crossing platform, time of staying on platform, distanceof staying on platform, distance of staying on platform/total distance have no significantchanges; while the times of crossing effective area, time of staying in effective area, distanceof staying in effective area, time of staying on platform/total time, time of staying ineffective area/total time, distance of staying in effective area/total distance significantlyincreased(P<0.05).2.Results of cholinergic system-related enzyme tests: Compared with Model group,IO(0.5,1.0,2.0g/kg) have no effect on cholinergic system and related enzymes.3.Results of free radical-related enzyme tests: Compared with Model group, IO(0.5,1.0,2.0g/kg) could increase the activity of SOD and CAT in the brain of VD rats, andincrease the content of MDA(P<0.05). However, IO(0.5,1.0,2.0g/kg) have no effect on theactivity of GSH-PX and Na+-K+-ATPase. IO(2.0g/kg) could significantly increase theactivity of Ca2+-Mg2+-ATPase(P<0.05).4.Results of histopathological changes: IO(2.0g/kg) could significantly reduce thehistopathological injury in the brain of VD rats.Conclusion: Inonotus obliquus has a protective effect on VD rats. It can improve thestudy and memory ability of VD rats, and can inhibit brain histopathological injury. Thepossible mechanisms may be: inhibition of oxidative stress and free radical injury, enhanceof anti-free radical-related enzyme activity and antioxidant capacity.