Page 187 - 2025中醫藥與天然藥物聯合學術研討會-中醫藥與天然藥物的挑戰Ｘ機遇與未來大會手冊

PP-05

Neuroprotective and anti-ageing effects of Dicliptera chinensis extracts and

their purified compounds in vitro and in a scopolamine-induced mouse model

of cognitive dysfunction

#,1
Yi-Yan Sie, Mei-Hsien Lee,* ,1,2 Wen-Chi Hou* ,1,2

1 Ph.D. Program in Clinical Drug Development of Herbal Medicine, College of Pharmacy,
Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
2 Graduate Institute of Pharmacognosy, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
* E-mail: lmh@tmu.edu.tw (M.-H. Lee); wchou@tmu.edu.tw (W.-C. Hou)

Abstract
With advances in medical care, global population ageing has become a growing concern.
Cognitive decline is a common age-related symptom and a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease
(AD), for which no effective treatment currently exists. Dicliptera chinensis (DC), traditionally
consumed in Taiwan as a vegetable and herbal remedy for heat-clearing and detoxification, has
not been scientifically evaluated for its anti-ageing or neuroprotective potential. Ethanol
extracts (DC-95EE) were prepared from dried whole DC plants. The butanol-soluble fraction
and two compounds—were tested for anti-ageing effects in D-galactose-induced SH-SY5Y
neuronal cell models. Additionally, cognitive function was assessed in scopolamine-induced
ICR mice following DC-95EE administration. DC-95EE and its fractions significantly
improved SH-SY5Y cell viability, reduced senescence-associated β-galactosidase activity
(SAβG), and lowered intracellular ROS levels compared to D-galactose-treated controls. Gene
expression analysis showed that the purified compounds downregulated ageing-related markers
p16 and p21, while upregulating SIRT-1. Furthermore, DC-95EE exhibited dose-dependent
anti-acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and anti-amyloid-β (1–42) aggregation activities in vitro. In
animal studies, DC-95EE enhanced learning and memory performance in scopolamine-treated
mice. These findings suggest that ethanol extracts of DC and their active compounds exhibit
anti-ageing and cognitive-enhancing effects, supporting their potential application as functional
food ingredients for neuroprotection and the prevention of age-related cognitive decline.

Keywords: Dicliptera chinensis; Neuroprotection; Anti-ageing; Cognitive decline;
Scopolamine-induced mice model