Author(s)

Abass Alao Safiriyu¹, Ibrahim Semuyaba¹, Figueredo Niurka Remón¹, Temitope Akhigbe Etibor², Musa Iyiola Ajibola³

¹Department of Physiology, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Kampala International University, Ishaka, Uganda.
²Department of Human Anatomy, Faculty of Biomedical Sciences, Kampala International University, Ishaka, Uganda.
³Institute of Neuroscience, National Yang-Ming University, Taipei city.

Hippocampus plays a central role in the acquisition and recall of both episodic and spatial memory. Studies have shown that garlic has neuroprotective effects in various capacities and enhancement of different forms of memory. However, the effect of garlic spatial memory and direct effect of garlic extract on the activities of membrane bound enzymes Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase and Ca²⁺ ATPase in the hippocampus of rat still remain elusive. Therefore, we studied the effect of ethanolic extract of garlic on spatial working memory using object location memory OLM test and the hippocampal Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase and Ca²⁺ ATPase activities. Sixteen male wistar rats weighted 120 - 150 g were used and divided into two groups of eight rats each. The control and experimental groups were treated 1ml of normal saline and 500 mg/kg body weight of ethanolic extract of garlic respectively orally for three weeks. OLM test was carried out on the two groups. Animals were sacrificed and the brains were removed, and hippocampi were carefully excised and homogenate was obtained. Homogenate was analyzed for Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase and Ca²⁺ ATPase activities. There was significant increase in the exploration time in experimental group when compared with control group (p < 0.001). There was significant increase in both Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase and Ca²⁺ ATPase activities in experimental group when compared with control group (p < 0.0001). The results indicate that effects of garlic on improvement of hippocampal-dependent spatial memory could be mediated through activities of these membrane bound enzymes. The results showed that garlic enhancement of hippocampal-dependent spatial memory could be mediated by increasing the activities of Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase and Ca²⁺ ATPase. Our findings provide potential mechanism and therapeutic target for memory deficit neurological disorders.

Ca²⁺ ATPase, Garlic, Hippocampus, Na+/K+ ATPase, Spatial Working Memory

Safiriyu, A. , Semuyaba, I. , Remón, F. , Etibor, T. and Ajibola, M. (2017) Garlic Extract (Allium sativum) Enhances Spatial Working Memory in Wistar Rats: Involvement of Hippocampal Na⁺/K⁺ ATPase and Ca²⁺ ATPase Activities. Journal of Behavioral and Brain Science, 7, 31-40. doi: 10.4236/jbbs.2017.72004.