Huperzia saururus increases memory retention in rats

MARIANA VALLEJOS,; G ORTEGA,; JL CABRERA,; VALERIA CARLINI,; SUSANA ELIZABETH RUBIALES; M AGNESSE,

JOURNAL OF ETHNOPHARMACOLOGY

Año: 2007 vol. 111 p. 685 - 685

0378-8741

b> Abstract Huperzia saururus is reported in Argentinean popular medicine as a memory improver. Chemical studies have shown that the main constituents of the species are Lycopodium alkaloids. On the basis of this information, a purified alkaloid extract was obtained by alkaline extraction of the aerial parts. The aim of this work was to investigate the effects of intra-hippocampal administration of the purified alkaloid extract (AE) on memory retention in vivo, using a step down test, in order to correlate with previous results obtained in vitro in an electrophysiological model. The AE administration significantly increased the latency time in comparison to control animals. For