title: Bacopa monniera selectively attenuates suppressed Superoxide dismutase activity in Diazepam induced amnesic mice.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Amnesia is characterized by loss of memory that could result from abnormal neuro-chemical homeostasis, genetic predisposition or drug abuse. We earlier reported that B. monniera attenuates diazepam, scopolamine and L-NNA induced amnesia and wanted to test if SOD levels were affected by its administration.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  B. monniera is earlier reported to augment the defense system for oxidative stress by increasing the activities of superoxide dismutase, therefore, we investigated its levels after B. monniera administration in combination with different amnesic agents.
  
  
  METHODS
  We treated mice with amnesic agents such as scopolamine, diazepam, L-NNA and MK 801 either with or without B. monniera.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Diazepam (1.75 mg/kg ip) significantly reduced SOD activity while it was unaltered when Scopolamine (0.1 mg/kg ip), MK 801 (0.17 mg/kg ip) and L-NNA (30 mg/kg ip) were administered. B. monniera significantly attenuated diazepam induced suppression of SOD activity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is suggested that the mechanism of B. monniera's antiamnesic effect may vary depending on the type of amnesic agent used. However, antioxidant mechanism may be central to evoking the memory enhancing effects of B. monniera against diazepam induced amnesia.
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector-12 Chandigarh, 160012, INDIA.
authors.forename: Sudesh
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Prabhakar
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector-12 Chandigarh, 160012, INDIA.
authors.forename: Manish Kumar
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Saraf
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector-12 Chandigarh, 160012, INDIA.
authors.forename: Avijit
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Banik
authors.affiliation: Neuroscience Research Lab, Department of Neurology, Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research, Sector-12 Chandigarh, 160012, INDIA.
authors.forename: Akshay
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Anand
keywords: Amnesia; Bacopa monniera; Diazepam; L-NNA, MK 801, Scopolamine; Superoxide dismutase