dizocilpine-maleate and puerarin

Puerarin at 10-50 mg/kg attenuated the mecamylamine- but not scopolamine-induced acquisition impairment of inhibitory avoidance performance in an inverse U-shape manner. p-Chloroamphetamine- and dizocilpine-induced acquisition impairment were reversed by puerarin at 25-50 mg/kg. Both piracetam, and tacrine attenuated impairment of inhibitory avoidance performance induced by all used drugs. Furthermore, puerarin, piracetam and tacrine alone did not alter step-through latency in the training trail but puerarin at 50 mg/kg and tacrine plus mecamylamine prolonged it in comparison with mecamylamine alone. From these results, we suggest that puerarin attenuated the deficits of inhibitory avoidance performance induced by mecamylamine, p-chloroamphetamine, and dizocilpine, the effects were related to increasing cholinergic activity via nicotinic but not muscarinic receptors, activating NMDA receptors, and decreasing serotonergic neuronal activity.

Topics: Amnesia; Animals; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Dizocilpine Maleate; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Isoflavones; Male; Mecamylamine; p-Chloroamphetamine; Phytotherapy; Pueraria; Random Allocation; Rats; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; Scopolamine