Evaluation of the Effect of Turra on Memory Impairment Induced by Chronic Psychosocial Stress in Rats: Role of BDNF.

BACKGROUND

Chronic psychosocial stress impairs memory function and leads to a depression-like phenotype induced by a persistent status of oxidative stress. L. (St. John's wort) is widely used to relieve symptoms of anxiety and depression; however, its long-term use is associated with adverse effects. Turra is closely related to . Both plants belong to family and share many biologically active compounds. Previous work by our group showed that methanolic extracts of have potent antioxidant activity as well as high hypericin content, a component that proved to have stress-relieving and antidepressant effects by other studies. Therefore, we hypothesized that would reduce stress-induced cognitive impairment in a rat model of chronic stress.

OBJECTIVE

To determine whether chronic treatment with protects against stress-associated memory deficits and to investigate a possible mechanism.

METHODS

The radial arm water maze (RAWM) was used to test learning and memory in rats exposed to daily stress using the resident-intruder paradigm. Stressed and unstressed rats received chronic or vehicle. We also measured levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) in the hippocampus, cortex and cerebellum.

RESULTS

Neither chronic stress nor chronic administration affected performance during acquisition. However, memory tests in the RAWM showed that chronic stress impaired different post-encoding memory stages. prevented this impairment. Furthermore, hippocampal BDNF levels were markedly lower in stressed animals than in unstressed animals, and chronic administration of chronic administration protected against this reduction. No significant difference was observed in the effects of chronic stress and/or treatment on BDNF levels in the cerebellum and cortex.

CONCLUSION

extract can oppose stress-associated hippocampus-dependent memory deficits in a mechanism that may involve BDNF in the hippocampus.