Resumen:
n the present paper it was investigated the role of sauroxine, an alkaloid of Phlegmariurus saururus, as a modulator of some types of learning and memory, considering the potential nootropic properties previously reported for the alkaloid extract and the main alkaloid sauroine. Sauroxine was isolated bymeans of an alkaline extraction, purified by several chromatographic techniques, and assayed in electrophysiological experiments on rat hippocampus slices, tending towards the elicitation of the longterm potentiation (LTP) phenomena. It was also studied the effects of intrahippocampal administration of sauroxine on memory retention in vivo using a Step-down test. Being the bio distribution of a drug an important parameter to be considered, the concentration of sauroxine in rat brain was determined by GLC?MS. Sauroxine blocked LTP generation at both doses used, 3.65 and 3.6102mM. In the behavioral test, the animals injected with this alkaloid (3.65103 nmol) exhibited a significant decrea