Phytother Res. 2003 May; 17(5): 542-5.

Effect of Choto-san, a Kampo medicine, on impairment of passive avoidance performance in senescence accelerated mouse (SAM).

Mizushima Y, Kan S, Yoshida S, Irie Y, Urata Y.

Department of Geriatrics, Hirosaki University School of Medicine, Hirosaki, Japan.

Effect of Choto-san (TJ-47), a Kampo medicine, on impairment of learning performance was evaluated by means of a step-through passive avoidance task in SAMP8 mice, a senescence-prone substrain. Tokishakuyaku-san (TJ-23), another Kampo medicine, was also employed for comparison. SAMP8 mice at the age of 10-12 months showed a poorer passive avoidance response than SAMR1 mice, a senescence-resistant substrain, in the memory-retention test, but not in the memory-acquisition test. Improved response in the memory-retention test was observed in SAMP8 mice treated with TJ-47, and almost equal degree of improvement was also observed after treatment with TJ-23. These results suggest that a long-term administration of Choto-san could improve to some extent the impairment of memory caused by aging.Copyright 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.