In today's life of stress and strain, the need of agent called nootropic having neuroprotective
and neuropharmacological activity, enhancing learning and memory functions of brain
has directed the interest of scientific community to validate the claims made about
herbs in the official books of Ayurveda [1, 2]. The Caralluma fimbriata (CF) family Asclepiadaceae is an edible succulent that is claimed to promote learning
and memory but not documented so far[3] hence we have undertaken the evaluation of
nootropic activity of Slimaluma (SL), branded product and an enriched phytochemical
composition developed from CF in mice using four different paradigms.
Each model had six groups consisting of six male albino mice each, including vehicle
treated control, reference standard Piracetam and four different doses (100, 250,
500 and 1000mg/kg) of SL. The mice were pretreated as per the standard protocol [1,
4, 5, 6] and the data obtained was analysed by using ANOVA followed by the Dunnetts
test.
The SL 250, 500mg/kg (P<0.05) and 1000mg/kg (P<0.01) significantly increased
the discrimination index Indicating an improvement in nonspiatal memory with the characteristic
of episodic memory [7]. In Morris water maze, all the doses were equally significant
in reducing the escape latency while SL 500 and 1000mg/kg significantly reduced the
distance traveled and thereby reported its effectiveness towards the memory based
upon spatial navigation [6]. The SL-250, 500 and 1000mg/kg were significant in reducing
the time spent in open arm and thereby exhibited anxiolytic activity [4]. In radial
arm maze, none of the dose was significant, which may be due to the appetite suppression
[3]. To conclude, SL significantly facilitated spatial and non-spatial memory functions
and exhibited anxiolytic action. Hence may be used to treat the related disorders
of learning and memory and to relive anxiety without affecting the cognitive function.
References: 1. Thakur, V.D., Mengi, S. A. (2005)J Ethnopharmacol 102: 23–31. 2. Chintawar,
S.D., Somani, R.S. (2002)J Ethnopharmacol 81:299–305. 3. Kuriyan, R., Rajendran, R.
(2007) Appetite 48:338–344. 4. Vyawahare, N.S., Bodhankar, S.L. (2007) Pharmacologyonline
2:148–162. 5. Vyawahare, N.S., Bodhankar, S.L. (2007)J Cell Tissue Res 7: 949–952.
6. Achliya G., Barbade U. (2004) Ind J Pharmacol 36:159–162 7. Ennaceur, A., Delacour
(1988) Behav. Brain Res. 31:47–59
