Silymarin attenuated the amyloid β plaque burden and improved behavioral abnormalities in an Alzheimer's disease mouse model.

Abstract

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by progressive cognitive impairment and the formation of senile plaques. Silymarin, an extract of milk thistle, has long been used as a medicinal herb for liver diseases. Here we report marked suppression of amyloid β-protein (Aβ) fibril formation and neurotoxicity in PC12 cells after silymarin treatment in vitro. In vivo studies had indicated a significant reduction in brain Aβ deposition and improvement in behavioral abnormalities in amyloid precursor protein (APP) transgenic mice that had been preventively treated with a powdered diet containing 0.1% silymarin for 6 months. The silymarin-treated APP mice also showed less anxiety than the vehicle-treated APP mice. These behavioral changes were associated with a decline in Aβ oligomer production induced by silymarin intake. These results suggest that silymarin is a promising agent for the prevention of AD.

• Authors: Nakaba Murata, Kazuma Murakami, Yusuke Ozawa, Noriaki Kinoshita, Kazuhiro Irie, Takuji Shirasawa, Takahiko Shimizu
• Journal: Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry (Biosci Biotechnol Biochem) Vol. 74 Issue 11 Pg. 2299-306 ( 2010) ISSN: 1347-6947 [Electronic] England
• PMID: 21071836 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't)

Chemical References

• Protective Agents
• Silymarin

Topics

• Alzheimer Disease (drug therapy, prevention & control)
• Animals
• Disease Models, Animal
• Mental Disorders (drug therapy)
• Mice
• Mice, Transgenic
• PC12 Cells
• Plaque, Amyloid (complications, drug therapy)
• Protective Agents
• Rats
• Silymarin (pharmacology, therapeutic use)