Abstract

BR003 is a multi-herbal formula that contains twelve medicinal herbs. We investigated the effects of oral administration of BR003 to Wistar rats on (a) learning and memory using a passive avoidance test and (b) cell proliferation in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus using immunohistochemical analysis of 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) expression. In the passive avoidance test, the retention time of the BR003-treated group was significantly longer than that of the control group (182.64±39.88 vs. 73.08±29.30 s, respectively; n=11; p<0.05). There were significantly more BrdU-immunoreactive cells in the DG in the BR003-treated group than in the control group (1281.07±151.16 vs. 818.01±132.98 cells per DG, respectively; n=11; p<0.05). These results suggest that the administration of BR003 not only improves learning and memory but also increases cell proliferation in the DG of the rat hippocampus. © 2006 Pharmaceutical Society of Japan.

Author keywords

5-bromo-2- deoxyuridine; BR003; Cell proliferation; Memory; Passive avoidance test

Indexed keywords

EMTREE drug terms: br 003; broxuridine; herbaceous agent; unclassified drug

EMTREE medical terms: animal experiment; animal tissue; article; cell proliferation; controlled study; dentate gyrus; herb; hippocampus; immunocompetent cell; immunohistochemistry; immunoreactivity; learning test; male; memory; nonhuman; rat

MeSH: Animals; Antimetabolites; Avoidance Learning; Bromodeoxyuridine; Cell Proliferation; Dentate Gyrus; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Immunohistochemistry; Male; Memory; Nootropic Agents; Rats; Rats, Wistar; Stimulation, Chemical
Medline is the source for the MeSH terms of this document.

Chemicals and CAS Registry Numbers: broxuridine, 59-14-3;Antimetabolites; BR003 compound; Bromodeoxyuridine, 59-14-3; Drugs, Chinese Herbal; Nootropic Agents

Drug tradename: br 003.