Research Group of Traditional Food, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Republic of Korea.
Food Standard Research Center, Korea Food Research Institute, Wanju 55365, Republic of Korea.
Int J Biol Macromol. 2020 Dec 15;165(Pt A):1029-1037. doi: 10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2020.09.165. Epub 2020 Sep 28.
The menopausal syndrome caused by rapid changes in hormone levels greatly influences the quality of life of women. Though hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is widely used to treat the menopausal syndrome, it exhibits many side effects, including the risk of thrombosis, cardiovascular diseases, and increased incidence of breast cancer; thus, diversifying the interest for phytotherapy-based materials as alternatives to HRT. Here, we isolated a crude polysaccharide fraction (CWPF) from Cynanchum wilfordii root that alleviated the ovariectomy-induced uterine atrophy and bone loss without changes in plasma estradiol concentration in mice. Increased plasma levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), osteocalcin (OC) in ovariectomized mice were also reduced to normal levels by CWPF administration. We found that the inhibitory effects of CWPF on menopausal symptoms were mediated by the estrogen receptor β (ER-β) specific activation, not ER-α. Moreover, CWPF treatment suppressed the phosphorylation of Akt, suggesting that CWPF alleviates post-menopausal symptoms by regulating ER-β related Akt signaling pathway. These results demonstrate that the polysaccharides corresponding to CWPF among the water-soluble extracts of CW could be used as a beneficial herbal alternative for the development of therapeutic agents to prevent menopausal syndrome in women.
由激素水平快速变化引起的更年期综合征极大地影响了女性的生活质量。尽管激素替代疗法（HRT）被广泛用于治疗更年期综合征，但它存在许多副作用，包括血栓形成、心血管疾病和乳腺癌发病率增加的风险；因此，人们对植物疗法材料作为 HRT 的替代品产生了浓厚的兴趣。在这里，我们从徐长卿根中分离出一种粗多糖（CWPF），它可以缓解去卵巢诱导的子宫萎缩和骨丢失，而不改变小鼠血浆雌二醇浓度。CWPF 给药还将增加的血浆促卵泡激素（FSH）、碱性磷酸酶（ALP）、骨钙素（OC）水平降低至正常水平。我们发现，CWPF 对更年期症状的抑制作用是通过雌激素受体 β（ER-β）的特异性激活介导的，而不是 ER-α。此外，CWPF 治疗抑制了 Akt 的磷酸化，表明 CWPF 通过调节 ER-β 相关 Akt 信号通路来缓解绝经后症状。这些结果表明，CW 水溶性提取物中与 CWPF 相对应的多糖可以作为一种有益的草药替代品，用于开发治疗女性更年期综合征的药物。
