Ashutosh Pal Jain, Gajendra Pratap Choudhary*
School of Pharmacy, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452001 India
*Corresponding Author
Dr. Gajendra Pratap Choudhary
Department of Pharmacognosy School of Pharmacy, Devi Ahilya Vishwavidyalaya, Indore, Madhya Pradesh 452001
Abstract
Objective: To evaluate anti-amnesic activities in rodents and phytochemical analysis of leaves of Sphaeranthus indicus. Material and methods: The four leaves extracts of S. indicus in Soxhlet’s apparatus method using low polar to high polar solvent and used to screen the preliminary phytochemicals. The elevated plus maze (EPM) models and Cook and Weidley’s pole apparatus were employed to evaluate learning and memory activity. Acute toxicity studies were performed as per OECD guidelines. Results: The results indicate that the methanolic extract of S. indicus in doses of 150 and 300 mg/kg p.o. significantly reversed the amnesia induced by scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg i.p.) using elevated plus maze and Cook and Weidley’s pole apparatus for a period of 7 days augment both the acquisition as well as the retention of memory of learned task. Nootropic activity was compared using piracetam (100 mg/kg p.o.) as the standard. Conclusion: The observation suggested that methanol extract of Sphaeranthus indicus showed significant effects on learning behavior and memory enhancement as evidenced from the experiments performed. The activity may be attributed to the presence of 7-hydroxyeudesmanolides and sesquiterpenoids.
Keywords: Sphaeranthus indicus, elevated plus maze (EPM), Cook and Weidley’s pole apparatus
