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SYSTEMATIC REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1529327

The effect of tanshinones on cognitive impairments in animal models of Alzheimer's disease: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Provisionally accepted
Wang Shuwei Wang Shuwei 1Yang Jinsha Yang Jinsha 1Zhang Serena Zhang Serena 2Zhong Dayong Zhong Dayong 1,3*
  • 1 Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China
  • 2 Enloe Magnet High School, Raleigh, United States
  • 3 Third Veterans Hospital of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is an age-related neurological illness that poses a significant hazard to human health. A fat-soluble compound called tanshinones was isolated from Danshen, a traditional Chinese herb. Recent years have seen reports of clinical trials examining the effects of tanshinones on cognitive impairment among individuals with AD, as well as the publication of pertinent basic research. Tanshinones are not yet commonly utilized in the therapeutic treatment of AD, and the effectiveness of tanshinones as a treatment program for ADis not yet adequately supported by evidence. To assess the impact of tanshinones on cognitive impairment in experimental rodent models of AD, we carried out a systematic review in this work.Method: All relevant studies on the usage of tanshinones in AD model animals published in PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, EMBASE, Chinese Biomedicine Database, and China National Knowledge Infrastructure before September 8, 2024, were systematically retrieved. To assess the methodological quality, the CAMARADES checklist was used.Meta-analysis was calculated and graphed in the Stata 14.0 software. For each outcome in every study, the standard mean difference (SMD) and the 95% confidence interval (CI) of each effect size were calculated.Results: Fourteen studies were included in this study. Compared with the AD model group without tanshinones intervention, tanshinones significantly reduced the number of escape latency (SMD = -2.082, 95% CI = [-2.481, -1.683], p < 0.001). Tanshinones also increased the times of platform crossing (SMD = 1.464, 95% CI = [1.183, 1.744], p < 0.001) and time in target quadrants (SMD = 2.703, 95% CI = [2.132, 3.275], p < 0.001).Tanshinones are thought to have positive effects on cognitive impairment in rodent models of AD, according to the findings of this study. However, the level of quality of the

    Keywords: Tanshinones, Alzheimer's disease, cognitive impairment, Animal Models, Meta-analysis

    Received: 16 Nov 2024; Accepted: 07 Feb 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Shuwei, Jinsha, Serena and Dayong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Zhong Dayong, Third Veterans Hospital of Sichuan Province, Sichuan, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.