The Effect of Aqueous Extract of Boswellia on Learning and Spatial Memory in Adult Male Rats

Learning is the acquisition of information about the world and memory is a mechanism to encode, store and retrieve the learned information. Weak memory and learning disorders are the most common cognitive problems. In the present study, the pharmacological effects of aqueous extract of Boswellia on learning and spatial memory in male rats was investigated using the Morris water maze (MWM) test. In this experimental study, 21 male rats were divided into 3 groups including a control group (distilled water) and two groups treated with aqueous extract of Boswellia 50 and 100 mg/kg) that received the treatment for 4 weeks. To evaluate learning ability of animals, Morris Water Maze was used. In the first and the last day of training, all groups showed significant reduction in escape latency (P<0.0001) and traveled distance (P<0.0001). In the sixth day of training, both treatment groups showed significant reduction in escape latency (P<0.05) and traveled distance (P<0.05) in comparison with the control group. The results suggest that intake of Boswellia facilitates the learning and spatial memory formation in rats via Morris water maze test method.