Memory enhancing activity of <i>Spondias mombin Anarcadiaceae) </i>( and <i>Pycanthus angolensis (Myristicaceae)</i> on scopolamine induced amnesia in mice

Abstract

Background: In traditional medical practices, several plants have been used to treat cognitive disorders associated with aging as well as neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s. Spondias mombin and Pycnanthus angolensis were found  among recipes used ethnomedicine in Nigeria as memory enhancer.
Objective: The present study seeks to evaluate the memory enhancing ability of extracts of Spondias mombin and Pycanthus angolensis in a mice model with  scopolamine induced amnesia.
Materials and Methods: Spondias mombin and Pycanthus angolensis leaves were extracted with 100% ethyl acetate by maceration. Memory enhancing activities of both extracts were evaluated in scopolamine induced amnesic mice in Morris water maze test at various doses by determining the escape latency. The histopathology of the brain was also carried out to assess any change to the hippocampus that might have effects on memory.
Results:The escape latency time of Spondias mombin and Pycanthus angolensis treated group decreased through days 1 to 3 when compared with the scopolamine group showing their memory enhancing potential There was no visible lesion on the brain of the mice in all the groups. However, the CAI region of the hippocampus of the brain of mice treated with the ethyl acetate extracts of both plants showed increased cell number and cell density when compared to that of brain cells of scopolamine pretreated groups who received no treatment
Conclusion: Spondias mombin and Pycanthus angolensis may hold some promise in the management of memory related disorders since the ethylacetate extract of both plants showed considerable enhancement of memory in the treated animals.

Keywords: Memory enhancement, Spondia mombin, Pycanthus angolensis, Amnesia