Research reportDecalepis hamiltonii root extract attenuates the age-related decline in the cognitive function in Drosophila melanogaster

•This is the first study on effect of plant-derived extract on cognitive quality in D. melanogaster.•D. hamiltonii extract contains novel antioxidant molecules.•Its neuroprotective effects have been reported in rat laboratory.•D. hamiltonii improves the age-related memory impairment (AMI) in D. melanogaster.•It also attenuates the transgenerational effect of parental age on F1 cognitive quality.

Age-associated accumulation of oxidative damage linked to decline of antioxidant defense mechanism, leads to impairment of cognitive function in many organisms. These damages can pass through generations and affect the cognitive quality of progenies. In Drosophila, classical olfactory conditioning results in the formation of different types of memory. Age-related memory impairment (AMI) causes reduction in middle term memory (MTM) and parental senescence causes decline in short-term memory (STM) of the offspring. We have further examined the neuromodulatory effect of Decalepis hamiltonii (Dh) root extract, which is a cocktail of novel antioxidant molecules, on the biochemical oxidative defenses in relation to cognitive ability of the aged flies and their offspring. There is a strong correlation between the age-related decline in the activity of the antioxidant enzymes and the lower cognitive ability of the aged flies and their offspring. Feeding of aged flies in the diet containing 0.1% Dh, markedly enhances the cognitive ability of both aged flies and their offspring which is associated with enhanced antioxidant defenses as evident for the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase. Our findings, for the first time, show that the antioxidant-rich Dh root extract attenuates the age-related decline in cognitive ability of Drosophila, and also shows ameliorative effect on the memory of the offspring.