ABSTRACT
Objective: The present study investigated the memory-enhancing activity of ethanolic extracts of the American medicinal plant, Dysphania ambrosioides, on scopolamine-induced amnesia in experimental animals.
Materials and Methods: Animals to which the extract of D. ambrosioides was administered were evaluated for memory-enhancement by the elevated plus maze, Morris water maze, and Barnes maze models. The animals were treated with ethanolic extracts of the plant at two dosages, Dys100 or Dys200, or the pharmaceutical tacrine (as the positive control) for 15 d. Scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg bodyweight) was injected intraperitoneally into the animals 45 min after drug administration on the 15th day of extract administration.
Results: Dys100 and Dys200 exhibited memory-enhancing activity, as indicated by the results of various behavioral tests. Decrease in transfer latency in the elevated plus maze, and decrease in both escape latency and path length, and increased time spent in the target quadrant in the Morris water maze revealed the antiamnesic property of the extracts. Moreover, Dys100 and Dys200 also showed significant decreases in escape latency and the number of poke errors in the Barnes maze model.
Conclusion: Ethanolic extracts of D. ambrosioides alleviates scopolamine-induced amnesia in a dose-dependent manner. Further investigations will be required to understand the underlying mechanism of action of the extracts in ameliorating amnesic-like symptoms in the experimental animals.
