Abstract:
Ferulago angulata (Apiaceae) is a shrub indigenous to Turkey, western Iran, and Iraq. In traditional
medicine, F. angulata is recommended for treating various medical conditions and as sedative. In the
study, the effects of inhaled F. angulata essential oil (1% and 3%, daily, 21 days) on spatial memory
performance were assessed in scopolamine-treated rats. Decrease of spontaneous alternations
percentage within the Y-maze task and increase of working memory errors and reference memory
errors within the radial arm maze task were exhibited on scopolamine-induced rats. Exposure to F.
angulata essential oil significantly improved these parameters, suggesting positive effects on spatial
memory formation. Assessments of oxidative stress markers in the hippocampal tissue of
scopolamine-treated rats showed a significant decrease of the total content of reduced glutathione
(GSH), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase and glutathione peroxidase (GPX) specific activities,
along with an increase of acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and an elevation of malondialdehyde
(MDA) and protein carbonyl levels. F. angulata essential oil significantly increased total content of
reduced GSH, SOD, CAT and GPX specific activities, decreased AChE specific activity and attenuated the
increased MDA and protein carbonyl levels. Also, DNA fragmantation was not observed in the F.
angulata essential oil treated-rats, thus suggesting antiapoptotic activity of the essential oil. Therefore,
our results suggest that exposure to F. angulata essential oil ameliorates scopolamine-induced spatial
memory impairment by attenuation of the oxidative stress in rat hippocampus.
