Cognitive enhancement in aged mice after chronic administration of Cedrus deodara Loud. and Pinus roxburghii Sarg. with demonstrated antioxidant properties.

Cedrus deodara and Pinus roxburghii, plants mentioned in Indian literature, have been described to possess central nervous system effects and are used in Ayurvedic medicine to treat disorders of the mind. To investigate the memory-enhancing activity of volatile oil and chloroform extracts of C. deodara and P. roxburghii in the Morris water maze paradigm as well as evaluating their antioxidant properties. Aged albino mice were used to study the effect of oil and chloroform extracts on learning and memory by using the Morris water maze paradigm. The chloroform extract of C. deodara produced a significant decrease in escape latency over 7 days of training in both reference and working memory training in comparison to the control group. In the probe trial on day 8, mice in the chloroform extract of C. deodara group crossed the target area more often and spent more time in the target quadrant. Amongst the oils and extracts tested for oxidative stress parameters, only the chloroform extract of C. deodara at doses of 100 mg/kg produced a significant decrease in malondialdehyde (MDA) with a simultaneous significant increase in the level of glutathione (GSH) in both the frontal cortex and hippocampus. The present findings indicate that the chloroform extract of C. deodara has the best memory-enhancing effect due to its strong antioxidant properties from compounds like terpenoids and flavonoids. The study provides a scientific rationale for the traditional use of C. deodara in the management of memory dysfunction and related disorders.