Neuroprotective and therapeutic effect of Cordyceps militaris on ischemia-induced neuronal death and cognitive impairments

Abstract

Cordyceps militaris is a type of fungus consumed by people all over the world and renowned for their nutritional benefits and herbal formulas to promote health and longevity. In the present study investigation was carried out to explore the therapeutic properties and neuroprotective effect of the C. militaris on ischemic brain neuronal injury, impairment of memory and learning in experimental rats induced by a global cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury in WISTAR rats. Vascular Dementia with transient global brain injuries induced by a four-vessel occlusion (4-VO) in WISTAR rats. Further, donepezil (5 mg/kg) and C. militaris was (100 and 300 mg/kg, p.o.) were orally administered for 7 days in 4-VO WISTAR rats. C. militaris has the ability to improve memory impairments due to global cerebral ischemia and scopolamine-induced memory deterioration. Our present findings suggest that C. militaris may be a potential candidate for the neuroprotection of hippocampus and the recovery of various vascular dementia or neuroinflammatory disorders.

Nutritional, antioxidant, and quality characteristics of novel cookies enriched with mushroom (Cordyceps militaris) flour

“…C. militaris is high in nutrients, such as proteins, vitamins, trace minerals, and so on (Dang et al, 2018). A number of other bioactive constituents isolated from C. militaris have been also reported such as cordycepin, polysaccharides, cordycepic acid, superoxide dismutase, and fibrinolytic enzyme (Kim et al, 2019;Tang et al, 2018;Zhang et al, 2019). C. militaris is well known for its health stimulating properties and medicinal effects, antiinflammatory, antioxidant or anti-aging, antitumor and immunomodulatory effects (Reis et al, 2013).…”

Acupuncture regulates the Th17/Treg balance and improves cognitive deficits in a rat model of vascular dementia

“…An estimated 7.7 million individuals throughout the world are diagnosed with dementia throughout the world each year [ 1 ]. VD and associated neurocognitive impairment typically arise due to an insufficient blood supply as a consequence of ischemic stroke or related conditions [ 2 ]. Following cerebral ischemia, neuronal necrosis can trigger a robust inflammatory response [ 3 ], which is critical to the pathological progression of VD [ 4 ].…”

Cordyceps militaris: An Overview of Its Chemical Constituents in Relation to Biological Activity

“…Lee et al [136] proved that C. militaris antagonized the scopolamine-induced memory deficit effect in experimental rats. The neuroprotective effect of C. militaris was also confirmed in a rodent model of dementia and ischemic brain damage [137]. Yuan et al [138] showed that a polypeptide isolated from C. militaris improves memory in mice.…”