Increasing evidence demonstrates that β-
amyloid (Aβ) elicits oxidative stress, which contributes to the pathogenesis and
disease progression of
Alzheimer's disease (AD). Thus, there is interest in developing
antioxidant therapies for the prevention/treatment of
cognitive decline during AD. We reported previously that
puerarin has antioxidative properties in vitro. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to determine whether
puerarin improves cognitive function and reduces oxidative stress in
amyloid precursor
protein/
presenilin-1 (APP/PS1) mice, a well established AD mouse model, and explore its potential mechanism. Our results show that
oral administration of
puerarin significantly ameliorates
cognitive impairment in APP/PS1 mice assessed by the Morris water maze (MWM) test. This was accompanied by a significant decrease in the levels of lipid peroxidation (LPO) through, at least in part, induction of nuclear factor erythroid 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2) target gene
heme oxygenase 1 (HO-1) in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 transgenic mice at 9 months of age, but without altering brain Aβ burden. Furthermore,
puerarin significantly activated Akt, reduced activation of
glycogen synthase kinase 3β (GSK-3β), and induced nuclear translocation of Nrf2 in the hippocampus of APP/PS1 mice but did not alter ERK1/2 phosphorylation. Thus,
puerarin may improve cognitive performance in APP/PS1 mice through activation of the Akt/GSK-3β signaling pathway. These findings suggest that
puerarin might be an attractive agent for prevention and treatment of
cognitive impairment and
dementia.