Neurobehavioural activity on declarative memory in the novel object recognition task following consumption of beans diet in Swiss white mice

Abstract

Neuro-behavioural actions of serotonin include mood, memory, learning and sleep. Interestingly, beans -a stable diet of Nigerians, contain serotonin and its precursor -5-Hydroxytryptophan. This study investigated the effects of cooked and uncookedbeans on neurobehavioral parameters using 40 Swiss white mice. The mice were randomly assigned into four groups, viz; A –control; B -cooked beans diet (50% w/w); C -uncooked beans diet (50% w/w) and D placed on serotonin precursor (5-HTP) diet (0.2mg/50g w/w) (D) for thirty days. All the mice had access to clean drinking water ad libitum. The phytochemical properties of the beans as well as the LD50 of beans and serotonin precursor (5-HTP), were determined prior to the assessment of neurobehavioral parameters. Serotonin and serotonin precursor (5-HTP) concentration were measured in cooked and uncooked beans using High performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis. The novel object recognition task (open field) was used for cognitive declarative memory. Results on cognitive declarative memory training showed that group B and C learnt better than the control (A) (p<0.05). Group D produced similar results observed in B and C; suggesting that serotonin may for the observation in B and C. Thus, serotonin in beans diet can improve cognitive declarative memory.

Keywords: Serotonin, 5-Hydroxytryptophan, NORT, Memory, Beans, Mice.