Astragaloside protects rat brain from microwave-induced functional injuries via restoring acetylcholine and normalizing electroencephalogram.

Studies from our group and others have reported that 30 mW/cm2 microwave could damage the structures of rat hippocampus, as well as impair the neuronal functions. The neuroprotective effects of astragaloside, purified from Astragalus membranaceus, have been demonstrated in animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. In this study, we found that 30 mW/cm2 microwave impaired spatial learning and memory ability in rats, while astragaloside could significantly alleviate the injuries. The pathological analysis also showed that astragaloside protected neurons from microwave-induced damages, such as mitochondrial swelling and cavitation, rough endoplasmic reticulum swelling and dilation, synaptic gap disappearing, and vesicle aggregation. Moreover, microwave-induced structural damage of synapse resulted in downregulation of acetylcholine, an important neurotransmitter for information transmission, while astragaloside could protect the structure of synapse, as well as restore the acetylcholine level in rat hippocampus. Furthermore, astragaloside also accelerated the recovery of brain electroencephalogram (EEG) after microwave exposure, indicating that astragaloside could promote the normalization of neuronal functions. In conclusion, astragaloside protected the morphological structures and restored acetylcholine level in rat hippocampus, which could improve brain functions via normalizing brain EEG. Therefore, astragaloside might be a promising candidate to treat microwave-induced injuries of central nervous system (CNS).