A Chemically Standardized Extract of Ziziphus jujuba Fruit (Jujube) Stimulates Expressions of Neurotrophic Factors and Anti‐oxidant Enzymes in Cultured Astrocytes

The fruit of Ziziphus jujuba Mill., known as jujube or Chinese date, is commonly consumed as a health supplement worldwide. To study the role of jujube in brain benefits, the expression of neurotrophic factors and anti‐oxidant enzymes in the jujube‐treated cultured astrocytes was determined. Application of a chemical standardized water extract of jujube in cultured astrocytes for 24 h stimulated the expressions of nerve growth factor, brain‐derived neurotrophic factor and glial cell line‐derived neurotrophic factor in a concentration‐dependent manner. The pre‐treatment with H89, a protein kinase A inhibitor, attenuated the jujube‐induced expression of neurotrophic factors. In parallel, the treatment of jujube water extract induced the transcriptional expressions of the enzymes responsible for anti‐oxidation, i.e. NAD(P)H: quinine oxidoreductase 1, glutamate‐cysteine ligase catalytic subunit, glutamate‐cysteine ligase modifier subunit and glutathione S‐transferase, in a concentration‐dependent manner. These results proposed the benefits of jujube in regulating expressions of neurotrophic factors and anti‐oxidant enzymes in cultured astrocytes. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.