EFFECTS OF SCHISANDRA ON BEHAVIORAL LEARNING AND HIPPOCAMPAL ACHE ACTIVITY IN OVARIECTOMIZED MICE

The effects of different extracts of Schisandra on behavioral learning in ovariectomized mice and the correlative mechanisms were studied by experiments. Different fractions of Schisandra alcohol extract were obtained with different polarities of solvents. Ovariectomized mice were orally given the different medication for 28d. The behavioral learning of mice were mensurated in Model MG-2 maze. AChE activity in hippocampus was determined by ultraviolet spectrometry. The behavioral learning of ovariectomized mice were impaired significantly and the activity of AChE was depressed in hippocampus compared with that of the control group. Schisandra n-butanol extract and ethanol extract both enhanced the behavioral learning ability of ovariectomized mice. The n-butanol extract significantly decrease the hippocampal activity of AChE in ovariectomized mice. The results indicated that the effect of Schisandra n-butanol extract was better than thar of the ethanol extract. The effective components of Schisandra on learning improvement was concentrated in the n-butanol extract, which might be contributed with the activity of AChE in hippocampus.