Beneficial effects of cornel iridoid glycoside on behavioral impairment and senescence status in SAMP8 mice at different ages.

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of cornel iridoid glycoside (CIG) on behavioral changes and senescent status in senescence-accelerated mouse-prone 8 (SAMP8) mice at different ages (6, 10, and 14 months old). The learning and memory ability, the motor function and the aging conditions of SAMP8 mice were evaluated after CIG treatment in this study. Results showed that intragastrical administration of CIG (100 and 200mg/kg) for two months obviously improved the impaired cognitive ability of SAMP8 mice at the age of 6 months and 10 months, respectively. The treatment with CIG significantly increased the motor function of SAMP8 mice at 10 months and 14 months of age, respectively. CIG also evidently decreased the high grading score of senescence and increased the low surviving rate of SAMP8 mice at the age of 14 months. In addition, CIG treatment inhibited tau hyperphosphorylation in the hippocampus and striatum of SAMP8 mice at different ages. Together, these results indicate that CIG represent a potentially useful treatment for ameliorating the impaired cognitive ability, the motor dysfunction, aging conditions and hyperphosphorylation of tau in aging and age-related neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer's disease.