Hot-water extract of Paecilomyces tenuipes from the silkworm pupae improves d-galactose-induced brain aging in mice

摘要

An entomoparasitic fungus, Paecilomyces tenuipes, was harvested from dried and dead pupae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori . Hot-water extracts of P. tenuipes (PTE) were administered orally to mice for 5 weeks after 8 weeks of subcutaneous injection of d-galactose. d-galactose-treated mice were used to examine the effect of supplementation with PTE on brain aging and age-related disease. A step-through passive avoidance test and Morris water maze test were also performed to examine the learning and memory capacities of these mice. The PTE group increased step-through latency and improved spatial learning and memory ability than the aging controls. Furthermore, in the mice aged with d-galactose, Holzer staining revealed histochemical evidence of gliosis in the hippocampal CA3 area. The PTE group of d-galactose-treated mice showed a decrease in gliosis. These results indicated that PTE may cause neural improvement in the aged brain.