EVALUATION OF LEARNING AND MEMORY ENHANCING ACTIVITY OF COCCINIA GRANDIS FRUITS IN RATS

Objectives: To assess the learning and memory enhancing activity of the Coccinia grandis fruits in rats using Elevated plus maze (EPM), Hebb-William maze (HWM) and Morris water maze (MWM ) and to evaluate brain Acetylcholine esterase activity, lipid peroxidation, Superoxide dismutase, Catalase, Glutathione.  Materials and methods: Wistar rats (100-150 gm) of either sex, were divided into 5 groups (n=6). Group-I (control) animals received vehicle, Group-II animals received diazepam(1 mg/kg i.p), Groups III ,IV  and V animals received Coccinia grandis- 500 mg/kg p.o, 1000 mg/kg p.o and Piracetam (400 mg/kg i.p) respectively for 27 days, followed by diazepam (1 mg/kg i.p) single dose on 19th and 27th day. Assessment of transfer latency (TL), time taken to reach reward chamber (TRC) and swim latency (SL) was done on 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th and 27th day using EPM, HWM and MWM respectively. Rats were sacrificed on 28th day, brain acetylcholine esterase activity, lipid peroxidation, superoxide dismutase, glutathione and catalase levels were estimated. The data was analyzed by one way ANOVA followed by Dunnett’s test. P ≤ 0.05 was considered significant. Result: Coccinia grandis decreased TL, TRC and SL in comparison to diazepam treated rats, decreased acetylcholine esterase activity and lipid peroxidation, and increased superoxide dismutase, glutathione and catalase in brain. Conclusion: The Coccinia grandis enhanced learning and memory activity. This nootropic effect can be attributed to their antioxidant and neuroprotective property. Keywords: Memory, EPM, HWM, MWM, Piracetam, Diazepam.