Abstract
Context There are numerous pharmacological activities for Ruta graveolens and its bioactive constituent, rutin, on learning and memory. Objective This study aimed to examine the effect of R. graveolens and rutin on memory in rats. Materials and methods In this study animals were treated with the hydroalcholic extract of R. graveolens and rutin by IP injection for 10 days. Behavioural and biochemical tests as well as HPLC analysis and antioxidant activity of extract have been evaluated. Results R. graveolens extract and rutin significantly increased learning and improved spatial memory, as well as secondary latency; moreover, there were significant increases in the serum and brain antioxidant capacity as well as the level of TBARS in serum and brain tissues. Results also showed that R. graveolens has significant DPPH radical scavenging effect (IC50: 159.17 ± 1.56 μg/mL). The HPLC analysis of extract showed that caffeic acid (19.92 ± 0.01), rutin (40.15 ± 0.01), and apigenin (0.84 ± 0.01) mg/g of dry extract are the main components of the extract. Discussion and conclusion Regarding the effects of R. graveolens extract and rutin on animal brain cells, memory function, and learning, additional studies, including clinical trials, might be beneficial in producing natural supplementary drugs from this herb.
Highlights
Learning and memory are among the highest functional levels of the central nervous system (CNS) (Spencer et al 2009)
Bonferroni post hoc test showed that, latency to find the platform on day 3 was significantly lower in the groups receiving the extract with concentrations of 100 and 300 mg/kg and the group treated with rutin (10 mg/kg), compared to the control group (p < 0.05, p < 0.01, p < 0.001, respectively), but there was no significant difference between the group receiving the extract with the concentration of 30 mg/kg and the control group (p > 0.05)
The swimming duration in the target quadrant on the probe day, was significantly higher in the group receiving 300 mg/kg of the extract and the group treated with rutin (10 mg/kg) compared to the control group (p < 0.01), but there was no significant difference between the groups treated with 30 and 100 mg/ kg of the extract and the control group (p > 0.05)
Summary
Learning and memory are the hallmarks of human beings. Learning and memory are among the highest functional levels of the central nervous system (CNS) (Spencer et al 2009). Since learning and memory are important issues in science and technology advancement and the number of people with learning and memory disorders is increasing, using herbal drugs in the treatment of forgetfulness and enhancing memory has been a topic of interest for many researchers (Izadpanah et al 2017) These herbs have been used since ancient times and they rarely lead to side effects (Jamshidi-Kia et al 2018). There are more than 120 compounds of different types of flavonoid glycosides, quinoline alkaloids, coumarins, lignins, and flavonoids as the active ingredients of R. graveolens (Stashenko et al 2000; Gentile et al 2015) Among these flavonoids, rutin has been a topic of interest for researchers (Adsersen et al 2006). The present study was conducted to investigate and compare the effect of hydroalcholic extract of R. graveolens and rutin on spatial memory and passive avoidance memory in rats
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