Anti-aging Effects of Polysaccharides from Lophatherum gracile Brongn.
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Abstract:
The aim was to study the anti-aging effects of polysaccharides from Lophatherum gracile Brongn. (DZY) using a mouse model of subacute aging induced by D-galactose. Kunming mice were randomly divided into a blank control group, an aging model group, and a low-, medium-, and high-dose DZY group (100, 200, 400 mg/kg, respectively). After 6 weeks, the learning and memory abilities of the mice were measured using Morris water-maze and step-down tests. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), and the contents of malondialdehyde (MDA) in the serum, liver tissue, and brain tissue were assayed. Thymus and spleen indices and the number of neurons were also determined. The anti-aging effects of DZY positively correlated with increased dosages. Compared with the model group, the high-dosage group showed a significantly higher spleen index, thymus index, and number of neurons (increase of 22.18%, 46.28%, and 25.60%, respectively). In the serum, liver tissue, and brain tissue, there were also significant increases in the activities of SOD (by 34.27%, 29.69%, and 41.63%, respectively) and GSH-Px (by 23.18%, 42.88%, and 45.80%, respectively). However, the contents of MDA significantly decreased (by 19.81%, 56.50%, and 13.31%, respectively). In the step-down test, the learning reaction time decreased by 40.21% and the number of errors decreased by 39.57%. Memory latency increased by 51.58%, while the number of memory errors decreased by 38.26%. The escape latency decreased by 39.27% in the Morris water-maze test, while the number of platform crossings increased by 63.61% (p < 0.01). These results indicated that the polysaccharides from Lophatherum gracile Brongn. had a significant anti-aging effect.
