Effects of Lingzhi or Reishi Medicinal Mushroom Ganoderma lucidum (Agaricomycetes) Triterpene on Motor and Spatial Learning Disorders in 5xFAD Mice

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a prevalent neurodegenerative disorder that gradually destroys cognitive, memory, and thinking skills. Although increasing evidence has demonstrated that Ganoderma lucidum triterpenoids (GLT) can ameliorate the motor and spatial learning disorders of AD, the underlying mechanism remains unclear. Hence, in this study, GLT were obtained by using a traditional Chinese medicine processing method, and then the effects of GLT on motor and spatial learning disorders in 5xFAD mice were investigated by using various techniques such as behavioral analysis, micro-dialysis, and neurophysiological recording. Compared with the 5xFAD group, 0.5 g/kg GLT could decrease escape latency, the total number of limb errors, and the duration of errors. This dose could also increase the number of crossing the original platform, the total movement time, and the distance in the central region of the open-field box, as well as the maximum movement speed and continuous movement time on the rotating rod. After GLT treatment, the glutamate (Glu) content and variation coefficient of a simple spike of Purkinje cells decreased compared with the 5xFAD group, thereby improving the spatial learning and memory ability. Overall, this study shows that GLT may be a potential therapeutic method for patients with AD.