α-Asarone in management of sleep deprivation induced memory deficits and anxiety in rat model.

Insomnia is associated with anxiety and memory deficits. α-Asarone, an active principle of Acorus species, which has anxiolytic and memory-restoring properties, was recently identified as a potential hypnotic with the least side effects. The current study was conducted in rats to find out whether the hypnotic dose of α-asarone can produce anxiolytic and memory restoring effects. α-Asarone (10 mg/kg, i.p.) and its vehicle were administered to rats, deprived of sleep by gentle handling for 5 h for 5 days. Spatial memory was assessed in the radial arm maze. Anxiety was tested using elevated plus maze and open field test. In addition to using the vehicle of the drug as a control, midazolam (2 mg/kg, i.p.), a known anxiolytic, was also used as a positive control. Increased anxiety levels produced after sleep deprivation were reduced after α-asarone administration. The anxiolytic effect was comparable to that produced by midazolam. Increase in the reference and working memory errors, resulting from sleep deprivation, was reduced after α-asarone injection. It also produced an improvement in the percentage of correct choices. Decreased lipid peroxidation and increased activities of catalase and glutathione reductase facilitated the improvement in cognitive functioning. α-Asarone, is not only a good therapeutic agent for insomnia and associated anxiety, it can also reduce insomnia-associated memory deficits. This is the first report on the anxiolytic and cognition enhancing property of α-asarone in sleep-deprived rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]