Smart Soup, a traditional Chinese medicine formula, ameliorates amyloid pathology and related cognitive deficits
Authors: Jianqing Ding
Xiaohang Li
Chenggang Huang
Yujun Hou
Jian Zhao
Xiaoheng Shen
Xianglu Zeng
Shengdi Chen
Ying Wang
Gang Pei
Jin Cui
Yun Ling
Journal: PLoS ONE (2014)
Discipline: Multidisciplinary
Keywords: Alzheimer's disease; Smart Soup; Chinese medicine; Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii; Poria cum Radix Pini
Affiliations: State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China., Institute of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China., Department of Neurology, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China., Shanghai Institute of Materia Medica, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China., Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine, Shanghai, China., State Key Laboratory of Cell Biology, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China; Shanghai Key Laboratory of Signaling and Disease Research, School of Life Science and Technology, Tongji University, Shanghai, China.

Abstract:  Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that causes substantial public health care burdens. Intensive efforts have been made to find effective and safe disease-modifying treatment and symptomatic intervention alternatives against AD. Smart Soup (SS), a Chinese medicine formula composed of Rhizoma Acori Tatarinowii (AT), Poria cum Radix Pini (PRP) and Radix Polygalae (RP), is a typical prescription against memory deficits. Here, we assessed the efficacy of SS against AD. Oral administration of SS ameliorated the cognitive impairment of AD transgenic mice, with reduced Aβ levels, retarded Aβ amyloidosis and reduced Aβ-induced gliosis and neuronal loss in the brains of AD mice. Consistently, SS treatment reduced amyloid-related locomotor dysfunctions and premature death of AD transgenic Drosophila. Mechanistic studies showed that RP reduced Aβ generation, whereas AT and PRP exerted neuroprotective effects against Aβ. Taken together, our study indicates that SS could be effective against AD, providing a practical therapeutic strategy against the disease. 

Retracted: No

PubPeer comments:
 Figure 2I. * Marked in green: The left Ctx panel (WT veh) looks very similar to the right panel (APP PS1 SS). Could the authors please check? This is highly relevant because the figure is supposed to show that the Smart Soup (SS) treatment alleviates all kinds of symptoms. ![file] , 
 Dear Dr. Bik, Thank you for bringing this issue to our attention. I am Yujun Hou, the first author of the mentioned paper. After carefully checking the data, I realized that when I prepared for representative images in Fig. 2i, I had inadvertently mixed up the lower left panel (WT veh) of Fig. 2i with the right SS-treated panel (APP PS1 SS). The results of SS-treatment (Fig. 2k), however, were quantified based on the original images as shown below. The mix-up of the representative image does not affect the conclusion of this experiment. I sincerely apologize for my mix-up. We will immediately contact PLOS ONE to make the correction. I really appreciate your kind help! Best, Yujun Hou ![file] , 
 Mouse #B ![file] , 
 Mouse #C ![file] , 
 Mouse #D ![file] , 
 Dear Yujun Hou, Thank you so much for your prompt reply and original photos. It is very rare, and very much appreciated to have such a fast and friendly reply, and to see the raw data. I look forward to see this paper corrected. Thank you so much! Elisabeth Bik , 
 And Mouse #E ![file] Dear Dr. Bik, Thank you very much again for your kind help. I will take action for the correction right away. Best, Yujun , 
 Dear Dr. Bik, As the senior corresponding author of this paper, I sincerely apologize for the unfortunate error and any confusion it may have caused. Thank you and best regards, Gang Pei , 
 August 2020 correction, found here: https: journals.plos.org plosone article?id=10.1371 journal.pone.0237035 It corrects an error in the number of animals in the figure legend of Figure 1, and the duplicated panel in Figure 2I. I thank the authors for correcting this error. ,