Biomol Ther.  2016 Jul;24(4):433-437. 10.4062/biomolther.2015.184.

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge Blocks Ethanol-Induced Synaptic Dysfunction through Regulation of NMDA Receptor-Dependent Synaptic Transmission

• Park HJ
• Lee S
• Jung JW
• Lee YC
• Choi SM
• Kim DH

• KMID: 2351693
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.4062/biomolther.2015.184

Abstract

Consumption of high doses of ethanol can lead to amnesia, which often manifests as a blackout. These blackouts experienced by ethanol consumers may be a major cause of the social problems associated with excess ethanol consumption. However, there is currently no established treatment for preventing these ethanol-induced blackouts. In this study, we tested the ethanol extract of the roots of Salvia miltiorrhiza (SM) for its ability to mitigate ethanol-induced behavioral and synaptic deficits. To test behavioral deficits, an object recognition test was conducted in mouse. In this test, ethanol (1 g/kg, i.p.) impaired object recognition memory, but SM (200 mg/kg) prevented this impairment. To evaluate synaptic deficits, NMDA receptor-mediated excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) in the mouse hippocampal slices were tested, as they are known to be vulnerable to ethanol and are associated with ethanol-induced amnesia. SM (10 and 100 μg/ml) significantly ameliorated ethanol-induced long-term potentiation and NMDA receptor-mediated EPSP deficits in the hippocampal slices. Therefore, these results suggest that SM prevents ethanol-induced amnesia by protecting the hippocampus from NMDA receptor-mediated synaptic transmission and synaptic plasticity deficits induced by ethanol.

Keyword

Salvia miltiorrhiza; Ethanol; Synaptic plasticity; NMDA receptor

MeSH Terms

Amnesia
Animals
Ethanol
Excitatory Postsynaptic Potentials
Hippocampus
Long-Term Potentiation
Memory
Mice
N-Methylaspartate*
Neuronal Plasticity
Salvia miltiorrhiza*
Salvia*
Social Problems
Synaptic Transmission*
Ethanol
N-Methylaspartate