EFFECT OF ORAL ARTESUNATE ON SPATIAL MEMORY IN MICE

Previous studies have shown that intramuscular artemisinins cause dose dependent neurotoxicity particularly in brain stem nuclei. This study was designed to study the effects of oral artesunate on the spatial memory in mice. Mice were divided into three groups of 10 animals each. Group A which served as control, received food and water while group B and C were given 30 mg/kgbwt and 60 mg/kgbwt respectively, of oral artesunate daily for 28 days. The spatial memory of the animal was assessed by swim latencies during the acquisition training, reversal training, visible platform and quadrant duration during the probe trial. There was no significant difference between the swim latencies and quadrant duration in the test animals when compared with the control animals. This suggests that there was no spatial memory deficit in the test animals. Our finding suggests that oral artesunate up to the dosage of 60 mg/k/day does not affect spatial memory in mice.