Assessment of neuropharmacological activities of Terminalia Chebula in rats

Abstract

Problem statement: Oxidative stress has been implicated in the pathophysiology of many neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's Disease (AD). In traditional practices of Ayurvedic medicine, numerous herbs have been used to treat cognitive disorders. Terminalia Chebula (Combretaceae; TC), is a well-known Ayurvedic herbal remedy which possesses an antioxidant activity. The scientific literature strongly supports its in vitro exerted acetylcholinesterase inhibitory and has suggested developing this herb as a potential in the treatment of AD, However, the in vivo neurophamacological activities of this plant have never been studied. Approach: Adult male Sprague- Dawley rats were orally given the different doses of aqueous extracts of TC (10, 20 and 40 mg kg-1) once daily at a period of 2 weeks. The series of established neuropharmacological tests including elevated plus maze, forced swimming, open field and water maze tests were assessed after single administration, 1 and 2 weeks of treatment. Results: TC at a dose of 40 mg kg-1 treated rats exhibited a significant cognitive enhancing effect at all treatment duration. Unfortunately, this substance failed to show dose dependant manner and the other effects. Conclusion: With the above data, it can then be primarily concluded that aqueous extracts of TC should be further investigated about possible active ingredients and developed in line of other anti-Alzheimer herbal drugs or herbal brain booster. © 2012 Science Publications.