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Interesting that an herb commonly called 'skullcap' might be useful in protecting the brain from prions.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3281244/
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http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3281244/
Front Psychiatry. 2012; 3: 9.
Published online 2012 February 17. Prepublished online 2011 December 30. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00009
PMCID: PMC3281244
Copyright ? 2012 Eiden, Leidel, Strohmeier, Fast and Groschup.
A Medicinal Herb Scutellaria lateriflora Inhibits PrP Replication in vitro and Delays the Onset of Prion Disease in Mice
Martin Eiden,1 Fabienne Leidel,1 Barbara Strohmeier,1 Christine Fast,1 and Martin H. Groschup1*
1Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald, Germany
Edited by: Silke Vogelgesang, University of Greifswald, Germany
Reviewed by: Anja Brenn, University Medicine Greifswald, Germany; Susanne Krasemann, University of Hamburg Eppendorf UKE, Germany
*Correspondence: Martin H. Groschup, Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany. e-mail: [See link]
This article was submitted to Frontiers in Neurodegeneration, a specialty of Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Received December 12, 2011; Accepted February 2, 2012.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited.
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) are characterized by the misfolding of the host encoded prion protein (PrPC) into a pathogenic isoform (PrPSc) which leads to the accumulation of β-sheet-rich fibrils and subsequent loss of neurons and synaptic functions. Although many compounds have been identified which inhibit accumulation or dissolve fibrils and aggregates in vitro there is no therapeutic treatment to stop these progressive neurodegenerative diseases. Here we describe the effects of the traditional medicinal herb Scutellaria lateriflora (S. lateriflora) and its natural compounds, the flavonoids baicalein and baicalin, on the development of prion disease using in vitro and in vivo models. S. lateriflora extract as well as both constituents reduced the PrPres accumulation in scrapie-infected cell cultures and cell-free conversion assays and lead to the destabilization of pre-existing PrPSc fibrils. Moreover, tea prepared from S. lateriflora, prolonged significantly the incubation time of scrapie-infected mice upon oral treatment. Therefore S. lateriflora extracts as well as the individual compounds can be considered as promising candidates for the development of new therapeutic drugs against TSEs and other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer?s and Parkinson?s disease....
Published online 2012 February 17. Prepublished online 2011 December 30. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2012.00009
PMCID: PMC3281244
Copyright ? 2012 Eiden, Leidel, Strohmeier, Fast and Groschup.
A Medicinal Herb Scutellaria lateriflora Inhibits PrP Replication in vitro and Delays the Onset of Prion Disease in Mice
Martin Eiden,1 Fabienne Leidel,1 Barbara Strohmeier,1 Christine Fast,1 and Martin H. Groschup1*
1Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Greifswald, Germany
Edited by: Silke Vogelgesang, University of Greifswald, Germany
Reviewed by: Anja Brenn, University Medicine Greifswald, Germany; Susanne Krasemann, University of Hamburg Eppendorf UKE, Germany
*Correspondence: Martin H. Groschup, Institute for Novel and Emerging Infectious Diseases, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institut, 17493 Greifswald-Insel Riems, Germany. e-mail: [See link]
This article was submitted to Frontiers in Neurodegeneration, a specialty of Frontiers in Psychiatry.
Received December 12, 2011; Accepted February 2, 2012.
This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License, which permits non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in other forums, provided the original authors and source are credited.
Abstract
Transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE) are characterized by the misfolding of the host encoded prion protein (PrPC) into a pathogenic isoform (PrPSc) which leads to the accumulation of β-sheet-rich fibrils and subsequent loss of neurons and synaptic functions. Although many compounds have been identified which inhibit accumulation or dissolve fibrils and aggregates in vitro there is no therapeutic treatment to stop these progressive neurodegenerative diseases. Here we describe the effects of the traditional medicinal herb Scutellaria lateriflora (S. lateriflora) and its natural compounds, the flavonoids baicalein and baicalin, on the development of prion disease using in vitro and in vivo models. S. lateriflora extract as well as both constituents reduced the PrPres accumulation in scrapie-infected cell cultures and cell-free conversion assays and lead to the destabilization of pre-existing PrPSc fibrils. Moreover, tea prepared from S. lateriflora, prolonged significantly the incubation time of scrapie-infected mice upon oral treatment. Therefore S. lateriflora extracts as well as the individual compounds can be considered as promising candidates for the development of new therapeutic drugs against TSEs and other neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer?s and Parkinson?s disease....