The Neuroprotective Propensity of Organic Extracts of Acacia stenophylla Bark and Their Effectiveness Against Scopolamine-/Diazepam-Induced Amnesia in Mice

Dawood Shah; Arshad Iqbal; Fahad S Alshehri; Aman Ullah; Gowhar Ali; Tahir Muhammad; Rahim Ullah; Robert D E Sewell; Yusuf S Althobaiti

doi:10.2147/JIR.S376242

The Neuroprotective Propensity of Organic Extracts of Acacia stenophylla Bark and Their Effectiveness Against Scopolamine-/Diazepam-Induced Amnesia in Mice

J Inflamm Res. 2022 Aug 22:15:4785-4802. doi: 10.2147/JIR.S376242. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Dawood Shah¹, Arshad Iqbal¹, Fahad S Alshehri², Aman Ullah³, Gowhar Ali⁴, Tahir Muhammad^{5

6}, Rahim Ullah^{4

7}, Robert D E Sewell⁸, Yusuf S Althobaiti^{9

10}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Botany, Islamia College Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan.
² Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia.
³ College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Shifa Tameer-e-Millat University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
⁴ Department of Pharmacy, University of Peshawar, Peshawar, Pakistan.
⁵ Molecular Neuropsychiatry and Development (MiND) Lab, Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁶ Institute of Medical Science, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.
⁷ Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Life Sciences, Sarhad University of Science and Information Technology, Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan.
⁸ Cardiff School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3NB, UK.
⁹ Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, College of Pharmacy, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Addiction and Neuroscience Research Unit, Taif University, Taif, Saudi Arabia.

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disorder that is more prevalent in the elderly. There is extensive literature on using Acacia species against central nervous system disorders, although Acacia stenophylla has not been investigated for any neuroprotective potential. The purpose of the study was to elucidate the ameliorative effect of ethyl acetate (ASEE) and butanol (ASB) extracts from the bark of A. stenophylla on memory deficits and cognitive dysfunction in scopolamine- or diazepam-induced amnesia in mice.

Methods: The phytochemical constituents of the extracts of A. stenophylla were determined by GC-MS and the in vitro anticholinesterase plus antioxidant activities were also evaluated. Anti-amnesic effects were determined employing the open field test, elevated plus maze (EPM), Morris water maze (MWM), and Y-maze paradigms.

Results: The in vitro cholinesterase assays disclosed a concentration-dependent inhibition of both AChE and BuChE with IC₅₀ values of 28.48 and 44.86 µg/mL for the ASEE extract and 32.04 and 50.26 µg/mL for the ASB extract against AChE and BuChE respectively. DPPH and H₂O₂ antioxidant assays revealed respective IC₅₀ values for the ASEE extract of 28.04 and 59.84 µg/mL, plus 32.77 and 64.65 µg/mL for ASB extract. The findings revealed that both extracts possessed substantial antioxidant properties. Furthermore, these fractions restored scopolamine- and diazepam-induced memory deficits in a dose-dependent manner, as observed by a significant decrease in the transfer latency in EPM, reduction in escape latency, added time spent in the target quadrant in the MWM, and elevated spontaneous alternation behavior (SAB) in the Y-maze test.

Conclusion: The ameliorative effect of A. stenophylla on scopolamine- and diazepam-induced amnesia can be attributed to antioxidant and anticholinesterase activity. Consequently, the use of A. stenophylla might be exploited in the alleviation of oxidative stress and the management of AD.

Keywords: Acacia stenophylla; acetylcholinesterase; amnesia; cognitive deficits; oxidative stress.