ENTADA PHASEOLOIDES ATTENUATES SCOPOLAMINE INDUCED MEMORY IMPAIRMENT, NEURO-INFLAMMATION AND NEURO-DEGENERATION VIA BDNF/TRKB/NFΚB P65 PATHWAY IN RADIAL ARM MAZE

Objective: The present study investigates the protective effects of crude extract from seeds of Entada phaseoloides and isolated compounds in enhancing cognition in Scopolamine induced learning and memory impairments in the radial arm maze model.Methods: Two doses (100 and 200 mg/kg) of the crude methanolic extract of Entada phaseoloides (MEEP) were evaluated for amnesic activity by Radial Arm Maze memory model. Scopolamine (0.4 mg/kg i. p.), an amnestic drug was used for impairing memory. Tacrine (3 mg/kg, i. p.) was used as the standard drug. Animals were sacrificed to evaluate biochemical parameters viz. lipid peroxidase (LPO), nitrite oxide (NO), reduced glutathione (GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), cytokine levels by ELISA, Catecholamine levels by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), Caspase-3 activity by Fluorogenic assay, Gene (BDNF, TrkB, NF-κB p65, BAX) expression studies by Western Blotting and AChE, α7nAchR, Caspase-3, Nrf2 and HO-1 by Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction.Results: Treatment with MEEP significantly decreases escape latency and reference memory error (RME). MEEP treatment reversed the Scopolamine-induced hyperactivation of Acetylcholinesterase activity and overexpression of proteins NF-κB p65 BAX and also Caspase-3 activity in the hippocampus of rats. The level of BDNF, TrkB and α7nAchR were significantly up-regulated and AChE, Caspase-3, Nrf2, HO-1 were down-regulated in the MEEP treated rat. The extract increased the activity of SOD, GSH, Catalase, 5-HT, NE, Dopamine and decreased the levels of LPO and NO in rat hippocampus. Different active components of the seeds have been isolated.Conclusion: These results indicated that seeds of Entada phaseoloides might become a promising therapeutic agent for the treatment of cognitive dysfunction in addition to its already established medicinal properties