A Study of the Effects of Pistaciavera (Pistachio) Seed Oil on Working Memory as Well as Spatial Learning and Memory

Pistaciavera (pistachio) seeds are well-known medicinal herbs with several important pharmacological properties, including antioxidant and anti-inflammatory effects. The effects of pistachio oil (PO) have not yet been studied on the cognition performance. The current study was designed to investigate the nootropic effects of PO on male Wistar rats.

A total of 21 male Wistar rats were randomly divided into three experimental groups. Group1 was kept under normal conditions. Groups 2 and 3 were orally treated with PO, 1 and 4 mL/kg, respectively, for 21 days. Next, cognition was evaluated using the Morris water maze (MWM) and the Y-maze continuous alternation task (Y-CAT).

The results showed that PO improved the working memory in Y-CAT, but it failed to exert positive effects on the spatial learning and memory in MWM.

The findings of the current study suggest that PO enhances the working memory and remedies memory impairments and cognitive deficits.