Differential Effects of Buckwheat and Kudingcha Extract on Neuronal Damage in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons and Spatial Memory Impairment Induced by Scopolamine in an Eight-Arm Radial Maze

Buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench) noodles are a traditional food in Japan and contains catechin, epicatechin, quercetin, rutin and an oligomer of catechin and epicatechin. Catechin, epicatechin, quercetin and rutin have flavonoid structures, and their antioxidant action and neuroprotection have been widely studied. Buckwheat extract (BWE) has been also reported to have antioxidant activity in vivo and in vitro. Flavonoids have been shown to reduce elevated blood pressure, stimulate endothelium-dependent vasodilatation, and inhibit vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation. These beneficial effects of flavonoids reduce the risk of coronary artery disease. Studies have confirmed that catechin, epicatechin, rutin, and quercetin are beneficial in the treatment of stroke, and we demonstrated that BWE ameliorates spatial memory impairment induced by cerebral ischemia in the eightarm radial maze in rats by inhibiting excess glutamate release, suggesting that BWE has free radical-scavenging in addition to anti-glutamate activity. Differential Effects of Buckwheat and Kudingcha Extract on Neuronal Damage in Cultured Hippocampal Neurons and Spatial Memory Impairment Induced by Scopolamine in an Eight-Arm Radial Maze