The impact of ginsenosides on cognitive deficits in experimental animal studies of Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review. Issue 1 (December 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sheng, Chenxia; Peng, Weijun; Xia, Zi-an; Wang, Yang; Chen, Zeqi; Su, Nanxiang; Wang, Zhe
• Is Part Of: BMC complementary and alternative medicine. Volume 15:Issue 1(2015)
• Page Start: 1
• Page End: 15
• Publication Date: 2015-12
• Subjects: Alternative medicine -- Periodicals; Complementary Therapies -- Periodicals; 615.505
• DOI: 10.1186/s12906-015-0894-y
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1472-6882

Abstract

Abstract Background The efficacy of ginsenoside treatment on cognitive decline in individuals with Alzheimer's disease (AD) has yet to be investigated. In this protocal, we conducted a systematic review to evaluate the effect of ginsenosides on cognitive deficits in experimental rodent AD models. Methods We identified eligible studies by searching seven electronic databases spanning from January 1980 to October 2014. We assessed the study quality, evaluated the efficacy of ginsenoside treatment, and performed a stratified meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis to assess the influence of the study design on ginsenoside efficacy. Results Twelve studies fulfilled our inclusion criteria from a total of 283 publications. The overall methodological quality of these studies was poor. The meta-analysis revealed that ginsenosides have a statistically significant positive effect on cognitive performance in experimental AD models. The stratified analysis revealed that ginsenoside Rg1 had the greatest effect on acquisition and retention memory in AD models. The effect size was significantly higher for both acquisition and retention memory in studies that used female animals compared with male animals. Conclusions We conclude that ginsenosides might reduce cognitive deficits in AD models. However, additional well-designed and well-reported animal studies are needed to inform further clinical investigations.