Echinacoside alleviates sevoflurane‐induced cognitive dysfunction by activating FOXO1‐mediated autophagy

Abstract The current study aimed to examine the effects of echinacoside on cognitive impairment in mice after exposure to sevoflurane. To examine the role of FOXO1, si‐FOXO1 and si‐con were injected into the hippocampus through the left lateral cerebral ventricles. Sevoflurane‐induced mice had serious cognitive dysfunction. However, pretreatment with echinacoside alleviated the cognitive dysfunction, as measured by a shortened escape latency time, and increased platform crossing times, the percentage of distance in the target quadrant and Y‐maze spontaneous alternations. In addition, we found that echinacoside elevated FOXO1 expression in the hippocampus; increased the expression of autophagy‐related proteins including Beclin 1, ATG5, ATG7, and LC3; and reduced P62 expression. Silencing of FOXO1 aggravated the cognitive deficits and reduced expression of the autophagy‐related markers, whereas the effects of si‐FOXO1 on memory were abrogated by echinacoside. Echinacoside attenuated the cognitive impairment in sevoflurane‐induced mice through FOXO1‐mediated autophagy.