Some preliminary results regarding the effects of grape pomace on memory and anxiety in mice

Lately there is an increased interest in understanding the biotechnological and possible treatment-related relevance of various natural extracts products in most of the current pathologies. Grape pomace extract was previously cited for its beneficial effects in some metabolic disorders, including diabetes. There is also a recent interest regarding the effects of grape pomace in the superior cognitive functions, however with some controversial results in this area of research. In the present paper we want to see the effects of 300 mg/kg grape pomace extract, 3 days per os administration, on the immediate spatial memory and possible locomotor activity (spontaneous alternations and number of arm entries, as tested in Y maze task), as well as on anxiety behaviour (time/number of arm entries in the open/closed arms of the maze, head drippings in the open arms, stretching in the closed arms and grooming behaviour) as tested in the elevated plus maze task in mice. In this report we present for the first time in our best of knowledge some anxiolityc effects of grape pomace, as demonstrated by the behavioral modifications in the elevated plus maze task (e.g. significant increase in the number of open arms entries), as well as some possible immediate (spatial) memory deficits as determined through the spontaneous alternations percentage in the Y maze task.