Inhibitory effect of Capparis zeylanica Linn. on acetylcholinesterase activity and attenuation of scopolamine-induced amnesia

$Capparis$ $zeylanica$ Linn. a 'Rasayana' drug is used for its memory enhancing effects in the traditional Ayurvedic system of medicine. The aim of this study was to evaluate acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibitory and memory enhancing activities of $Capparis$ $zeylanica$ Linn. The$in-vitro$ and $ex-vivo$ models of AChE inhibitory activity were used along with Morris water maze test to study the effect on memory in rats. The anticholinesterase effect of methanolic and aqueous extracts of $Capparis$ $zeylanica$ was measured by spectrophotometric Ellman method at 0.1, 0.3, 1.0, 3.0, 10 and 30 mg/ml and brain monoamine oxidase (MAO-A and MAO-B) activity was assessed by Naoi's method. The results $in-vitro$ and $ex-vivo$ AChE assay revealed that methanolic and aqueous extracts of $Capparis$ $zeylanica$ inhibit AChE activity, whereas these extracts did not alter MAO activity at any concentration tested as compared to moclobemide and L-deprenyl. The results indicate that $Capparis$ $zeylanica$ improves scopolamine-induced memory deficits through inhibition of AChE activity, and not by direct MAO inhibition.