Pharmacological assessment of Amaranthus viridis Linn against scopolamine-induced amnesia in experimental rat model

Objectives: Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is one of the many neurological conditions that impair memory and cognitive function and get worse with age. Amaranthus viridis Linn is a medicinal plant used as intervention for a wide varieties of ailment. A natural constituent omega 3 fatty acid present in A. viridis Linn possesses strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Most of the drugs showed neuroprotective activity by inhibiting inflammation and oxidative stress in brain cells. Thus, we intended to evaluate pharmacological assessment of A. viridis Linn against scopolamine-induced amnesia in experimental rat model. Materials and Methods: The current study investigates whether A. viridis Linn can prevent scopolamine (SCP)-induced amnesia in female Wistar rats. The Morris water maze (MWM) and the Novel object recognition tests were used to assess memory-related behavioural factors. Every group except the control group received three oral doses of A. viridis extract (AVE) (200, 400 and 800 mg/kg) and daily intraperitoneal injections of scopolamine and donepezil at a dose of 1 mg/kg each for a total of 17 days. Results: When compared to the inducer group, all three doses showed shorter escape latency designating enhanced scopolamine-induced impairment. The long-term memory’s ability to recognise novel objects was also enriched by AVE, as shown by an improvement in the recognition index against chronic scopolamine-induced memory impairments. Acetylcholinesterase enzyme in particular brain areas (cortex, hippocampus) was dose-dependently inhibited by AVE. Conclusion: According to these research results, the AVE showed an improvement in memory function and may therefore represent a promising targeted therapy for neurodegenerative diseases.