Safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) Seed improves scopolamine-induced cognitive dysfunction in mice

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common type of aging-related neurodegenerative disease featuring gradually progressive cognitive and functional deficits. Neurodegenerative diseases are characterized by the presence of a state of oxidative stress and dysfunction of the cholinergic system. Safflower seed is mainly contained various anti-oxidant and cholinergic improvement compounds, such as serotonin and its derivatives, while the effect of Safflower seed in improving cognitive dysfunction has not been reported. In this study, we employed a scopolamine-treated learning and memory deficit mice to explore whether Safflower seed could alleviate cognitive dysfunction. Safflower seed water extract (SWE) was orally administered at dose of 100 mg/kg/day, and then behavior tests such as T-maze and novel object recognition test were conducted. Acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity, reactive oxygen species (ROS) production, and antioxidant enzymes in the brain were measured. In behavior tests, novel route and object recognitions were improved by administration of SWE, indicating that SWE improved memory function in the scopolamine-treated mice. Also, SWE-administered group showed inhibition of the AChE activity. In addition, administration of SWE showed the lower ROS production and higher antioxidant enzymes levels compared with the scopolamine-treated vehicle group. The present results suggest that SWE improves scopolamine-induced memory deficits via inhibition of cholinergic dysfunction and oxidative stress. As a result of HPLC analysis, SWE contained serotonin and its derivatives such as N-(p-coumaroyl) serotonin and N-(feruloyl) serotonin. Therefore, safflower seed might be a promising candidate for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction.