backgroundGlehnia littoralis has been used for traditional Asian medicine, which has diverse therapeutic activities. However, studies regarding neurogenic effects of G. littoralis have not yet been considered. Therefore, in this study, we examined effects of G. littoralis extract on cell proliferation, neuroblast differentiation, and the maturation of newborn neurons in the hippocampus of adult mice.

methodsA total of 39 male ICR mice (12 weeks old) were randomly assigned to vehicle-treated and 100 and 200 mg/kg G. littoralis extract-treated groups (n = 13 in each group). Vehicle and G. littoralis extract were orally administrated for 28 days. To examine neurogenic effects of G. littoralis extract, we performed immunohistochemistry for 5-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU, an indicator for cell proliferation) and doublecortin (DCX, an immature neuronal marker) and double immunofluorescence staining for BrdU and neuronal nuclear antigen (NeuN, a mature neuronal marker). In addition, we examined expressional changes of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) and its major receptor tropomyosin-related kinase B (TrkB) using Western blotting analysis.

resultsTreatment with 200 mg/kg, not 100 mg/kg, significantly increased number of BrdU-immunoreactive (

conclusionG. littoralis extract promots cell proliferation, neuroblast differentiation, and neuronal maturation in the hippocampal DG, and neurogenic effects might be closely related to increases of BDNF and TrkB proteins by G. littoralis extract treatment.