Effect of hydroalcoholic Chamomile (Atricaria chamomilla) extract on avoidance memory in Adult Male Rats

Memory and learning are one of the most complex brain functions and a mechanism for encoding, storing and recalling learned information. Due to the prevalence of learning disabilities, especially in older adults, the present study aimed to investigate the effect of hydroalcoholic extract of chamomile on avoidance memory levels in rats. In this experimental study, 48 adult male rats were divided into 6 groups: control, control 1 (treatment with normal saline) and control 2 (Shuttle Box) and three experimental groups receiving 200,100, and 400 mg/kg hydroalcoholic extract of chamomile by intraperitoneal injections. All of them were prescribed for 15 days. In this study, the Shuttle Box was used to measure memory and learning. The latency of entering and the time of remaining in a dark chamber of the Shuttle Box were recorded. The results were analyzed by ANOVA and Tukey tests using the SPSS-22 software. The significance level of data was considered as p≤0.05. The results showed that doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg chamomile extract significantly increased the latency of entering the dark chamber and also doses of 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg chamomile extract significantly reduced the time of remaining in the dark chamber of the Shuttle Box in the remembering phase at the level of P≤0.001 compared to the control group. The results of this study showed that chamomile extract strengthens avoidance memory in rats. This effect is probably due to flavonoids, antioxidants and phytoestrogens.