The effects of Gouqi extracts on Morris maze learning in the APP/PS1 double transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease

The present study examined the effects of Gouqi (Lycium barbarum) on the learning and memory abilities of an APP/PS1 double transgenic mouse model of Alzheimer's disease. We employed a Morris water maze to examine the spatial memory in this mice line with or without Gouqi extracts treatment. We identified that 2 weeks of oral administration of Gouqi extracts at 10 mg/kg improved the performance of the APP/PS1 mice in the learning and the memory retrieval phases of the Morris maze. In correlation with this, the levels of A beta(1-42) in hippocampal tissue were reduced by the Gouqi treatment. We conclude that pharmacological treatment with Gouqi extracts is beneficial at the later stages of Alzheimer's disease.