Lactobacillus casei-01 Facilitates the Ameliorative Effects of Proanthocyanidins Extracted from Lotus Seedpod on Learning and Memory Impairment in Scopolamine-Induced Amnesia Mice

AbstractLearning and memory abilities are associated with alterations in gut function. The two-way proanthocyanidins-microbiotainteraction in vivo enhances the physiological activities of proanthocyanidins and promotes the regulation of gut function.Proanthocyanidins extracted from lotus seedpod (LSPC) have shown the memory-enhancing ability. However, there hasbeen no literature about whether Lactobacillus casei-01 (LC) enhances the ameliorative effects of LSPC on learning andmemory abilities. In this study, learning and memory abilities of scopolamine-induced amnesia mice were evaluated by Ymazetest after 20-day administration of LC (109 cfu/kg body weight (BW)), LSPC (low dose was 60 mg/kg BW (L-LSPC) andhigh dose was 90 mg/kg BW (H-LSPC)), or LSPC and LC combinations (L-LSPC+LC and H-LSPC+LC). Alterations in antioxidantdefense ability and oxidative damage of brain, serum and colon, and brain cholinergic system were investigated as thepossible mechanisms. As a result, the error times of H-LSPC+LC group were reduced by 41.59% and 68.75% relative to thoseof H-LSPC and LC groups respectively. LSPC and LC combinations ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory impairmentby improving total antioxidant capacity (TAOC) level, glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) and total superoxide dismutase (TSOD)activities of brain, serum and colon, suppressing malondialdehyde (MDA) level of brain, serum and colon, andinhibiting brain acetylcholinesterase (AchE), myeloperoxidase, total nitric oxide synthase and neural nitric oxide synthase(nNOS) activities, and nNOS mRNA level. Moreover, LC facilitated the ameliorative effects of H-LSPC on GSH-Px activity ofcolon, TAOC level, GSH-Px activity and ratio of T-SOD to MDA of brain and serum, and the inhibitory effects of H-LSPC onserum MDA level, brain nNOS mRNA level and AchE activity. These results indicated that LC promoted the memoryenhancingeffect of LSPC in scopolamine-induced amnesia mice