Experimental evidence for the potential of lycopene in the management of scopolamine induced amnesia

Dietary intake of tomatoes and tomato products containing lycopene has been shown to be associated with a decreased risk of chronic diseases. Lycopene is a potent hypocholesterolemic agent, anti-atherosclerotic and is anti-cancerous. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of lycopene as a cognitive enhancer in scopolamine induced amnesic mice. A total of 108 mice divided into 18 groups were employed in the present study. Lycopene was administered orally in two different doses (5 and 10 mg kg(-1)) for 15 successive days. Pre-treatment with the tested dose of lycopene (5 and 10 mg kg(-1)) significantly improved the learning ability and retention of learned memory in elevated plus maze and Hebb-Williams maze, taken as exteroceptive behavioral models. Furthermore, scopolamine induced an increase in brain acetylcholinesterase and oxidative stress, responsible for amnesia, was significantly reduced by both the doses of lycopene. Serum cholesterol and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were successfully reduced by lycopene. Moreover the anti-amnesic effects of lycopene were well supported by photomicrographs of the hippocampus and cerebral cortex part of brain, whereas severity of cell damage, number of pyknotic black neurons, formation of edema and number of neuronal cell deaths were less comparative to the scopolamine group. The observed effects of lycopene show that it appears to be a promising cognitive enhancer and it would be worthwhile to explore the potential of lycopene in the management of Alzheimer's patients.