A comparative study showing greater effects of curcumin compared to donepezil on memory function in rats

Curcumin possesses wide spectrum of biological actions, on that account the current study was aimed to investigate the beneficial effectiveness of curcumin on memory and oxidative stress if any, over synthetic drug donepezil approved for the treatment of memory disorders. Eighteen Albino wistar (male) rats were divided into 3 groups namely vehicle control which received neutral oil orally and 0.9% saline intraperitoneally, curcumin which received curcumin orally dissolved in neutral oil at the dose of 100mg/ml/kg for seven days, donepezil which received donepezil intraperitoneally at the dose of 1mg/ml/kg for seven days. To assess memory and cognition Elevated Plus Maze and Morris Water Maze tests were performed. Rats were sacrificed after behavioral analysis and their brains were removed for biochemical assays including lipid peroxidation and antioxidant enzymes such as catalase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase. Acetylcholine esterase activity and acetylcholine levels were also determined. Our results showed that both curcumin and donepezil improved memory and inhibited acetylcholinesterase, however curcumin inhibited AchE with more potency than donepezil when compared to vehicle control rats. Moreover curcumin exhibited greater antioxidant potential to decrease the load of oxidative stress in brain cells than donepezil as compared to vehicle control rats. In conclusion present study proposed that increased antioxidant potential of curcumin may be responsible for its increased acetylcholine levels and associated enhanced memory performance.