PROTECTIVE EFFECT OF IRIS GERMANICA L. IN Β-AMYLOID-INDUCED ANIMAL MODEL OF ALZHEIMER'S DISEASE

Afr J Tradit Complement Altern Med. 2017 Jun 5;14(4):140-148. doi: 10.21010/ajtcam.v14i4.17. eCollection 2017. Borhani M1, Sharifzadeh M2, Farzaei MH3,4, Narimani Z1, Sabbaghziarani F5, Gholami M6, Rahimi R7,8. Author information 1 Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 2 Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 3 Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. 4 Medical Biology Research Center, Kermanshah University of Medical Sciences, Kermanshah, Iran. 5 Department of Anatomy, School of Medicine, Ghazvin University of Medical Sciences, Ghazvin, Iran. 6 Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Research Center, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 7 Department of Traditional Pharmacy, School of Traditional Medicine, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 8 PhytoPharmacology Interest Group (PPIG), Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN), Tehran, Iran. Abstract BACKGROUND: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia that is an irretrievable chronic neurodegenerative disease. In the current study, we have examined the therapeutic effects of Iris germanica extract on Amyloid β (Aβ) induced memory impairment. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats were divided into five groups of 8 per each. Groups were as followed: control group which were normal rats without induction of AD, Aβ group which received Aβ (50 ng/side), iris 100 group which received Aβ + Iris (100 mg/kg), iris 200 group which received Aβ + Iris (200 mg/kg), and iris 400 group which received Aβ + Iris (400 mg/kg). AD was established by intrahippocampal injection of 50 ng/μl/side Aβ1-42. The day after surgery, animals in treatment groups received different doses of the aqueous extract of Iris by gavage for 30 days. Morris water maze test (MWM) was performed to assess the effects of I. germanica on learning and memory of rats with Aβ induced AD. RESULTS: Data from MWM tests, including escape latency and traveled distance, demonstrated that I. germanica extract could markedly improve spatial memory in comparison to control. Moreover, the plant had a significantly better effect on the performance of AD rats in the probe test. CONCLUSION: I. germanica extract can successfully reverse spatial learning dysfunction in an experimental model of AD. Further neuro psyco-pharmacological studies are mandatory to reveal the mechanism of action of this natural remedy in the management of AD symptoms. KEYWORDS: Alzheimer’s disease; Iris germanica; beta amyloid; common flag; escape latency; spatial learning; traditional Persian medicine; traveled distance PMID: 28638877 PMCID: PMC5471461 DOI: 10.21010/ajtcam.v14i4.17 [Indexed for MEDLINE] Free PMC Article