Effect of Hydro-alcoholic Extract of Rosemary in Comparison with Alprazolam on Learning under Stress Conditions in Rats

Many anti stress drugs have a lot of side effects on learning. The aim of this study was to compare the effect of Rosemary plant and Alprazolam on learning under stress conditions in laboratory mice. In this experimental study, 60 adult female rats were used. In order to investigate the learning capacity under stress conditions, the rats were divided into 6 groups of control, stress, alprazolam and the three experimental groups that received the hydro-alcoholic extract of rosemary plants at doses of 50, 100 and 200. In all of the samples (except the control group) 30 minutes after injection, the mice were placed in a dark box for 50 minutes for stress. Subsequently, observational behaviors of the rats were recorded by using mouse maze. The results were analyzed using SPSS software. The results showed that rosemary hydro alcoholic extract at 100 and 200 mg/kg compared to the stress and alprazolam group significantly decreased the time to reach the target box in the Maze form, which indicates a reduction on effect of stress on the learning, while the number of errors in selecting the target box (reaching the target) at a dose of 200 mg/kg shows a significant decrease with the stress and drug group. According to the results, effective compounds in rosemary extract in two doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg can increase the learning in these conditions with the effect of reducing stress.