Murali Adiga*

Lecturer, Department of Physiology, KMC, MAHE, Manipal, India

*Corresponding Author: Murali Adiga, Lecturer, Department of Physiology, KMC, MAHE, Manipal, India.

Received: August 08, 2022; Published: August 12, 2022

Abstract

Memory is the process of gathering information from the world around us, processing it, storing it and later recalling that information. Many medicinal herbs used in Ayurveda to boost memory, sleep, immunity, learning and to relieve stress. Among these, Bacopa monnieri (BM), commonly called Brahmi, has been shown to be very useful in improving learning and memory. In our study, we are trying to establish the long-term consequences (either beneficial or adverse) of varying concentrations of Brahmi leaf extract powder (BM) in adult rats. Adult male Wistar rats of 10-12 months old used for this study. 10% and 20% BM diet is prepared using commercially available Brahmi (BM) powder. Rats were assigned to 3 month and 6 month treatment groups. Each rat in the given diet group was fed the designated BM diet (10% or 20%) daily for 3 months and 6 months duration and compared with the negative control. After the test duration, rat learning and memory is tested by T-maze and Passive avoidance tests. In the 3 month and 6-month treatment group, during the T-maze spontaneous alternation test, animals treated with the BM (10% and 20% showed significantly higher numbers of alternations and showed lesser percentage bias in comparison to NC rats. During the T-maze rewarded alternation test, rats treated with BM extract showed a significant increase in the percentage of correct responses when compared to the NC rats. In the passive avoidance tests, no significant change observed in behaviour during exploration trial. But, during the retention trial, rats treated with BM diet (10% and 20%) spent less time in the smaller compartment, suggesting improved memory retention. In both 3 month and 6 month diet groups, same pattern was observed. These results clearly prove that BM extract improved learning and memory in rats.

Keywords: Bacopa monnieri (BM); Brahmi; Spatial Learning; Passive Avoidance

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Citation

Citation: Murali Adiga. “The Long-term Effect of Bacopa monnieri Extract on Spatial Learning and Memory in Rats". Acta Scientific Gastrointestinal Disorders 5.9 (2022): 14-19.

Copyright

Copyright: © 2022 Murali Adiga. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.