IMPROVEMENT OF AMYLOID-β-INDUCED
MEMORY DEFICITS BY JUNIPERUS COMMUNIS L.
VOLATILE OIL IN A RAT MODEL OF
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE
OANA CIOANCA1, CORNELIA MIRCEA1*, ADRIANA TRIFAN1, ANA
CLARA APROTOSOAIE1, LUCIAN HRIȚCU2, MONICA HĂNCIANU1
1University of Medicine and Pharmacy „Gr. T. Popa” Iaşi, Faculty of
Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacognosy, Universitatii 16, Iasi,
Romania
2Alexandru Ioan Cuza University, Department of Biology and Animal
Physiology, Bd. Carol I, No. 11, Iasi, Romania
* corresponding author: corneliamircea@yahoo.com
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Abstract:

Juniper volatile oil is extracted from Juniperus communis L., of the
Cupressaceae family, also known as common juniper. The therapeutic properties of juniper oil are antiseptic, antirheumatic, antispasmodic, astringent, carminative, depurative, diuretic, rubefacient, stimulating, stomachic, sudorific and tonic. In traditional medicine, juniper oil was used to relieve anxiety, nervous tension and mental exhaustion.
In the present study, the effects of inhaled juniper volatile oil (1% and 3%, daily, for 21 days) extracted from J. communis L. on spatial memory performance were assessed in an Aβ(1-42) rat model of Alzheimer’s disease. The Aβ(1-42)-treated rats exhibited the following: decrease of spontaneous alternations percentage within Y-maze task and increase of working memory and reference memory errors within radial arm maze task.
Exposure to juniper volatile oil significantly improved these parameters, suggesting positive effects on spatial memory formation. Therefore, juniper volatile oil could be a potential candidate for further preclinical study aimed at the treatment of cognitive deficits in Alzheimer’s disease.

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