Abstract
Currently there has been no effective treatment of diabetic encephalopathy. Radix Polygoni Multiflori, a famous traditional Chinese medicine, is widely used in antiaging treatment, especially in prevention and treatment of Alzheimer's diseases. In this study we tried to explore the effect of Radix Polygoni Multiflori on cognitive function among diabetic rats with demonstrated cognitive impairment. SD rats were divided into group A (control group), group B (diabetes), group C (treated with Radix Polygoni Multiflori at the dose of 2 g/kg/d), and group D (treated with same drug at the dose of 1 g/kg/d). The results showed that 8 weeks of Radix Polygoni Multiflori treatment could improve the cognitive dysfunction of diabetic rats (P < 0.01), recover the ultrastructure of hippocampal neurons, and increase the number of synapses in a dose-dependent manner. Further experiment also suggested that the neuroprotective effect of Radix Polygoni Multiflori was partly achieved by downregulating MLCK expression in hippocampus via ERK signaling.