The Effect of Hydroalcoholic Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) on Memory Retention Deficit in Young Offspring Rat Induced by Maternal Sleep Deprivation

Abstract

Background:  Maternal sleep deprivation is known to reduce neurogenesis in the hippocampus during pregnancy. Also, it damages and impairs cognitive functions such as learning and memory in the neonates.

Objectives: Rosmarinus officinalis (rosemary) extract can play an important role in the treatment of cognitive impairments by inhibiting oxidative stress. This study aimed to investigate the role of hydroalcoholic extract of rosemary in the treatment of cognitive impairment caused by decreased hippocampal neurogenesis in neonates, which was attributed to maternal sleep deprivation during pregnancy.

Methods: For this purpose, pregnant rats in the control group underwent sleep deprivation for 72 hours inside a total sleep deprivation machine. The treatment groups comprised pregnant rats, receiving 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg of rosemary extracts per day during pregnancy and underwent sleep deprivation for 72 hours. Next, the avoidance memory of 21-day-old neonatal rats was examined using a shuttle box. These 21-day-old rats were then subjected to evaluate the structure of the hippocampus. Neurogenesis in the neonatal hippocampus was examined under light microscopy by staining of brain slices and counting of neurons and cells shape study.

Results: Compared with the control group, the neurogenesis and avoidance memory decreased in neonates affected by maternal sleep deprivation.

Conclusion: The results of this study showed that rosemary extract at a dose of 100 mg/kg was able to improve disorders in the infants affected by maternal sleep deprivation.