Combined Administration of Melissa officinalis and Boswellia serrata Extracts in an Animal Model of Memory

BACKGROUND: Boswellia serrata and Melissa officinalis is traditionally used for its memory enhancing effects. OBJECTIVES: In this study, we evaluated the protective effects of combined form of these extracts on memory improvement of scopolamine treated rats by the Morris water maze method. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two groups (group 1 and 2) of animals were pretreated with combined extracts of B. serrata and M. officinalis (200, 400 mg/Kg body weight) for four weeks and then, 30 minutes before starting the experiment scopolamine was injected (0.1 mg/kg body weight) intraperitoneally to pretreated animals. The control group was the animals that were injected by scopolamine and pre treated with distilled water (group 3). The normal group was treated with distilled water alone (group 4). RESULTS: For time spent and distance, there was no substantial difference between groups 1, 2 and 4, while they had statistical difference with group 3 (P = 0.001). The spatial memory evaluation showed no significant difference between treated groups and normal group. CONCLUSIONS: Therefore, the combination of the two extracts had the ability to improve memory as its traditional use.