Mangiferin regulates cognitive deficits and heme oxygenase-1 induced by lipopolysaccharide in mice

- Mangiferin could relieve LPS-induced cognitive deficits.
- Mangiferin could decrease inflammatory responses.
- Mangiferin attenuates LPS-induced inflammatory responses which may be associated with HO-1 in the hippocampus.

Accumulating evidence reveals that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) can induce neuroinflammation, ultimately leading to cognitive deficits. Mangiferin, a natural glucoxilxanthone, is known to possess various biological activities. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of mangiferin on LPS-induced cognitive deficits and explore the underlying mechanisms. Brain injury was induced in mice via intraperitoneal LPS injection (1 mg/kg) for five consecutive days. Mangiferin was orally pretreatmented (50 mg/kg) for seven days and then treatmented (50 mg/kg) for five days after LPS injection. The Morris water maze was used to detect changes in cognitive function. Immunohistochemical and immunoblotting were respectively performed to measure the expression of interleukin-6 (IL-6) and heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) in the hippocampus. The results showed that mangiferin can ameliorate cognitive deficits. Moreover, mangiferin decreased LPS-induced IL-6 production and increase HO-1 in the hippocampus. Taken together, these results suggest that mangiferin attenuates LPS-induced cognitive deficits, which may be potentially linked to modulating HO-1 in the hippocampus.