Oren-gedoku-to and its Constituents with Therapeutic Potential in Alzheimer's Disease Inhibit Indoleamine 2, 3-Dioxygenase Activity In Vitro

A well-known traditional Chinese medicinal prescription, Oren-gedoku-to (OGT), has been used in clinical therapies for many types of dementia in China and Japan. Additionally, it ameliorates the age-related deterioration of learning and memory in an Alzheimer's disease (AD) rat model. Indoleamine 2, 3-dioxygenase (IDO-1) is the first and rate-limiting enzyme in the kynurenine pathway of tryptophan catabolism, which ultimately leads to the production of the excitotoxin quinolinic acid (QUIN). IDO-1 has recently been established as one of the key players involved in the pathogenesis of AD. OGT is indicated to prevent cholinergic dysfunction and reduce oxidative stress; however, the exact mechanism underlying its ability to improve cognitive ability remains elusive. Here we present a novel mechanism of OGT's therapeutic potential in AD. We demonstrate that OGT significantly inhibited recombinant human IDO-1 (rhIDO-1) activity in vitro, and its four main constituents (i.e., berberine, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, and baicalein) were potent IDO-1 inhibitors. IC50 values, obtained from a cell-based assay, of HEK 293 cells and an enzymatic assay were much lower than the most commonly used IDO-1 inhibitor, 1-methyl tryptophan (1-MT). Berberine was the best inhibitor and had IC50 values of 7 µM (cell-based assay) and 9.3 µM (enzymatic assay). Jatrorrhizine and palmatine exhibited irreversible inhibition of rhIDO-1, whereas berberine and baicalein behaved as uncompetitive, reversible inhibitors with Ki values of 8 µM and 215 µM, respectively. In conclusion, constituents of OGT show strong IDO-1 inhibitory activity and may have significant therapeutic potential for AD.