Cognitive Enhancing Effects of Alpha Asarone in Amnesic Mice by Influencing Cholinergic and Antioxidant Defense Mechanisms

• Published in: Bioscience, biotechnology, and biochemistry Vol. 76; no. 8; pp. 1518 - 1522
• Main Authors: KUMAR, Hemant, KIM, Byung-Wook, SONG, Soo-Yeol, KIM, Jun-Soo, KIM, In-Su, KWON, Young-Sook, KOPPULA, Sushruta, CHOI, Dong-Kug
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Tokyo Japan Society for Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Agrochemistry 2012; Japan Society for Bioscience Biotechnology and Agrochemistry; Oxford University Press
• Subjects: acetylcholinesterase; Acetylcholinesterase - metabolism; Amnesia - chemically induced; Amnesia - drug therapy; Amnesia - metabolism; Amnesia - psychology; Animals; Anisoles - pharmacology; Antioxidants - pharmacology; Avoidance Learning - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; Cerebral Cortex - drug effects; Cerebral Cortex - metabolism; Cholinergic Antagonists; cognition; Cognition - drug effects; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; Hippocampus - drug effects; Hippocampus - metabolism; Male; Malondialdehyde - antagonists & inhibitors; Malondialdehyde - metabolism; Maze Learning - drug effects; Memory - drug effects; Mice; Nootropic Agents - pharmacology; passive avoidance; Scopolamine Hydrobromide; Superoxide Dismutase - antagonists & inhibitors; Superoxide Dismutase - metabolism; Y-maze; α-asarone; cognition; Enzyme; Rodentia; Esterases; Acetylcholinesterase; Antioxidant; Carboxylic ester hydrolases; Vertebrata; passive avoidance; Mammalia; Mouse; Hydrolases; Defense mechanism; Y-maze; α-asarone
• ISSN: 0916-8451; 1347-6947
• DOI: 10.1271/bbb.120247

The effect of α-asarone on impairment of cognitive performance caused by amnesic drug scopolamine was investigated. Treatment with α-asarone attenuated scopolamine-induced cognitive deficits as evaluated by passive avoidance and Y-maze test. Administration of α-asarone for 15 d improved memory and cognitive function as indicated by an increase in transfer latency time and spontaneous alternation in passive avoidance and the Y-maze test respectively. To understand the action of α-asarone, the levels of acetylcholinesterase (AChE), malondialdehyde (MDA), and superoxide dismutase (SOD) in the hippocampus (Hippo) and cerebral cortex (CC) of scopolamine-induced amnesic mice were evaluated. The mice treated with Scopolamine showed increased activity of AChE, MDA and SOD levels in both the Hippo and the CC area. Treatment with α-asarone attenuated the increased activity of AChE and normalized the MDA and SOD levels in the Hippo and the CC area in the scopolamine treated amnesic mice. These results suggest that α-asarone has a beneficial effect in cognitive impairment induced by dysfunction of cholinergic system in brain through inhibition of AChE activity and by influencing the antioxidant defense mechanism.