Research reportOroxylin A enhances memory consolidation through the brain-derived neurotrophic factor in mice

•Oroxylin A facilitates memory consolidation in a passive avoidance task.•Oroxylin A increases mBDNF levels in the hippocampus.•Oroxylin A facilitates memory consolidation through BDNF-TrkB signaling.•The increase of BDNF in a specific time window is important to memory consolidation.

Memory consolidation is a process by which acquired information is transformed from a labile into a more stable state that can be retrieved at a later time. In the present study, we investigated the role of oroxylin A on the memory consolidation process in mice. Oroxylin A improved the memory retention administered at 0 h, 1 h and 3 h after training in a passive avoidance task, suggesting that oroxylin A facilitates memory consolidation. Oroxylin A increased mature brain-derived neurotrophic factor (mBDNF) levels in the hippocampus from 6 h to 24 h after administration. Moreover, 3 h post-training administration of oroxylin A enhanced the mBDNF level at 9 h after the acquisition trial compared to the level at 6 h after the acquisition trial. However, 6 h post-training administration of oroxylin A did not increase the mBDNF level at 9 h after the acquisition trial. Blocking mBDNF signaling with recombinant tropomyosin receptor kinase B (TrkB)-Fc or k252a at 9 h after the acquisition trial obstructed the effect of oroxylin A on memory consolidation. Taken together, our data suggest that oroxylin A facilitates memory consolidation through BDNF-TrkB signaling and confirms that the increase of BDNF in a specific time window plays a crucial role in memory consolidation.