iridoids and Amnesia

We examined anti-amnesic activity of the methanolic extract of Cornus officinalis fruits (COT) and a major constituent, loganin using scopolamine-induced (1 mg/kg body weight, s.c.) amnesic mice with both passive avoidance and the Morris water maze tests. Oral treatment of mice with COT (100 mg/kg body weight) and loganin (1 and 2 mg/kg body weight) significantly mitigated scopolamine-induced memory deficits in passive avoidance test. In the Morris water maze test, oral treatment of loganin significantly ameliorated scopolamine-induced memory deficits showing the formation of long-term and/or short-term spatial memory. Moreover, loganin (2 mg/kg body weight) significantly inhibited acetylcholinesterase activity by as much as 45% of control in the mouse hippocampus. These results indicate that loganin may exert antiamnesic activity in in vivo through acetylcholinesterase inhibition.

Topics: Acetylcholinesterase; Administration, Oral; Amnesia; Animals; Avoidance Learning; Behavior, Animal; Cholinesterase Inhibitors; Cognition; Cornus; Disease Models, Animal; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug; Fruit; Hippocampus; Iridoids; Male; Memory, Short-Term; Mice; Mice, Inbred ICR; Nootropic Agents; Scopolamine; Time Factors