TY - JOUR T1 - The Effect of Chronic Oral Administration of Withania Somnifera Root on Learning and Memory in Diabetic Rats Using Passive Avoidance Test TT - بررسی اثر تجویز خوراکی و درازمدت ریشه بوزیدان بر یادگیری و حافظه موش صحرایی دیابتی شده با استفاده از آزمون اجتنابی غیر فعال JF - umsha JO - umsha VL - 13 IS - 2 UR - http://sjh.umsha.ac.ir/article-1-483-en.html Y1 - 2006 SP - 10 EP - 17 KW - shwagandha KW - Diabetes Mellitus KW - Learning KW - Memory KW - Passive Avoidance Test KW - Rats KW - Streptozotocin N2 - Introduction & Objective: Diabetes mellitus (especially type I) is accompanied with disturbances in learning, memory, and cognitive skills in the human society and experimental animals. Considering the potential anti-diabetic effect of the medicinal plant Withania somnifera (ashwagandha) and the augmenting effect of its consumption on the memory and mental health, this study was conducted to evaluate the effect of chronic oral administration of ashwagandha root on learning and memory in diabetic rats using passive avoidance test. Materials & Methods: For this purpose, male Wistar diabetic rats were randomly divided into control, ashwagandha-treated control, diabetic, and ashwagandha-treated diabetic groups. Ashwagandha treatment continued for 1 to 2 months. For induction of diabetes, streptozotocin was injected i.p. at a single dose of 60 mg/kg. Serum glucose level was determined before the study and at 4th and 8th weeks after the experiment. In addition, for evaluation of learning and memory, initial latency (IL) and step-through latency (STL) were determined after 1 and 2 months using passive avoidance test. Results: It was found that one- and two-month administration of ashwagandha root at a weight ratio of 1/15 has not any significant hypoglycemic effect in treated control and diabetic groups. Furthermore, there was a significant increase (p M3 ER -