【Animal Modeling】-Banxia Xiexin Decoction improves the learning and memory abilities of aging rats and its molecular mechanism

  Objective To study the effect of Banxia Xiexin Decoction (BXT) on the learning and memory abilities of aging rats and the expression of Ach, NE, DA and 5-HT receptor mRNA in the hippocampus of the brain using D-galactose-induced aging rats as animal models To explore the relevant mechanism of BXT on improving the learning and memory ability of rats.

  Methods Combined with the evasion latency time of the rats tested by Y-type water vapour uterus, an old rat model was established by injecting D-galactose; then the animals were divided into an old control group, a Huperzine A group, a middle-aged control group, and a low dose of BXT Group, BXT medium-dose group and BXT high-dose group were given intragastric administration according to different groups. After 6 weeks of continuous administration, the Y-type water maze was used to test the improvement of the rat’s learning and memory ability, to detect the expression of Ach, NE, DA, 5-TH receptor mRNA and antibody, and to observe the pathological changes in the hippocampus. The molecular mechanism of BXT on improving the learning and memory abilities of aging rats.

  Results Compared with the elderly control group, at 24h, 48h and 96h after training, each dose of BXT administration group can significantly shorten the escape latency of elderly rats. The HE staining of rat hippocampus tissue showed that compared with the aging control group, the hippocampal neuron damage in the high-dose BXT group was improved, but the middle-dose and low-dose BXT groups did not show significant improvement; the results of immunohistochemistry showed that the high-dose BXT Compared with the aging control group, the vertebral body cells were stained more in number, arranged tightly, and the color of the cells was darker.

  Conclusion This study found that BXT can improve the learning and memory abilities of aged rats, especially the effect of high-dose BXT is the most obvious, which may be related to increasing the expression of CHRM1, DRD2, HTRla, ADRA2a mRNA in the hippocampus of aged model rats.