Assessment of Voacanga africana effect on cognition and motor ability in a mouse model of Parkinson's disease

According to them, this communication is carried out not only by the striatomesencephalic loops but also by the striatocortical loops. [13,14] These effects are thought to be due to a very important component, voacamine, a powerful alkaloid found in the bark of this plant, which could preserve the brain from the neuronal degeneration observed in neurodegenerative diseases,[15] hence a positive consequence on behavioral performance in an animal model. MATERIALS AND METHODS Plant Materials Fresh root bark was harvested in February 2018 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast (CI) and was identified by researcher in Biodiversity and Sustainable Ecosystem Management (plant ecology-Forestry) from Nangui Abrogoua University (CI) and by a Botanical Engineer, from the Plant Biology Laboratory of the Faculty of Science and Technology of Cheikh Anta Diop University of Dakar (Forced Swim Test [FST] - UCAD); where the voucher specimen (DPB-16-10) was deposed. Behavioral Tests Our tests were selected on the basis of the search for cognitive signs such as depression with the forced swimming test which sometimes appears in the pre-symptomatic phase, and motor skills (rotarod) usually reduced in the context of the onset of PD. FST Mice were put in a transparent cylinder (diameter: 13 cm, height 25 cm).