In Silico and In Vivo Biological Evaluation of Extracts from Tunisian Desert Truffles ( <i>Tirmania nivea</i> and <i>Terfezia boudieri</i> ) on Scopolamine-Induced Memory Impairment in Mice

The present work focuses on studying the effectiveness of truffle extract administration to enhance memory functions in a scopolamine-induced amnesia mice model. Major phytochemical constituents, gallic acid and myricetin, underwent <i>in silico</i> studies using Autodock Vina and Discovery Studio visualizer software. Male mice were pretreated orally with either truffle extracts (400 mg/kg) or donepezil (3 mg/kg) for 21 days. Dementia was induced in mice by scopolamine (1 mg/kg) after 19 days of pretreatment and until day 28. The mice were divided into five experimental groups: (1) control; (2) model; (3) donepezil (1 mg/kg); (4) <i>Tirmania nivea</i> (400 mg/kg); and (5) <i>Terfezia boudieri</i> (400 mg/kg). Mice were subsequently subjected to a battery of behavioral tests, including an open field locomotor activity assay, and the Morris water maze (MWM) test. Biochemical, histopathological analyses and molecular docking were performed. Chronic Scopolamine administration decreased learning and memory enhancement during the MWM test. A significant increase in time to find the hidden platform and escape was observed. Scopolamine increases acetylcholinesterase (AChE) activity and oxidative stress. Conversely, treatment with the <i>T. nivea</i> and <i>T. boudieri</i> extracts (400 mg/kg orally administered) increased the memory of mice in the MWM task and suppressed scopolamine-induced oxidative damage. The memory enhancement effect was observed by the best docking scores of gallic acid and myricetin against AChE. This study reveals truffle's ameliorative effect on scopolamine-induced dementia in mice, possibly mediated by modulation of cholinergic activity and antioxidant activity. The docking of two major compounds, gallic acid and myricetin, predicted their potential as memory enhancers.