title: Crocins, the active constituents of Crocus sativus L., counteracted apomorphine-induced performance deficits in the novel object recognition task, but not novel object location task, in rats.
abstract: Schizophrenia is a chronic mental disease that affects nearly 1% of the population worldwide. Several lines of evidence suggest that the dopaminergic (DAergic) system might be compromised in schizophrenia. Specifically, the mixed dopamine (DA) D1/D2receptor agonist apomorphine induces schizophrenia-like symptoms in rodents, including disruption of memory abilities. Crocins are among the active components of saffron (dried stigmas of Crocus sativus L. plant) and their implication in cognition is well documented. The present study investigated whether crocins counteract non-spatial and spatial recognition memory deficits induced by apomorphine in rats. For this purpose, the novel object recognition task (NORT) and the novel object location task (NOLT) were used. The effects of compounds on mobility in a locomotor activity chamber were also investigated in rats. Post-training peripheral administration of crocins (15 and 30mg/kg) counteracted apomorphine (1mg/kg)-induced performance deficits in the NORT. Conversely, crocins did not attenuate spatial recognition memory deficits produced by apomorphine in the NOLT. The present data show that crocins reversed non-spatial recognition memory impairments produced by dysfunction of the DAergic system and modulate different aspects of memory components (storage and/or retrieval). The effects of compounds on recognition memory cannot be attributed to changes in locomotor activity. Further, our findings illustrate a functional interaction between crocins and the DAergic system that may be of relevance for schizophrenia-like behavioral deficits. Therefore, the utilization of crocins as an adjunctive agent, for the treatment of cognitive deficits observed in schizophrenic patients should be further investigated.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Thessaly, Larissa, Greece. Electronic address: npitsikas@med.uth.gr.
authors.forename: Nikolaos
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pitsikas
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Chemistry, Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition, School of Food Biotechnology and Development, Agricultural University of Athens, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Petros A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Tarantilis
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001058:Apomorphine / Q000633:toxicity; D002338:Carotenoids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D027622:Crocus; D018491:Dopamine Agonists / Q000633:toxicity; D008124:Locomotion / Q000187:drug effects*; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology; D051381:Rats; D017208:Rats, Wistar; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000187:drug effects*; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000139:chemically induced; D065852:Spatial Memory / Q000187:drug effects*
chemical_list: D018491:Dopamine Agonists; D010936:Plant Extracts; D002338:Carotenoids; C029036:crocin; D001058:Apomorphine
keywords: Apomorphine; Crocins; Locomotor activity; Rat; Recognition memory; Schizophrenia