Salvia moorcroftiana is medicinally used in various parts of the world to treat a number of diseases. In the literature, the antiamnesic activity of this plant has not yet been reported. Therefore, the current study was aimed at evaluating the in vivo antiamnesic (
scopolamine-induced) potential of Salvia moorcroftiana. The major
phytochemical groups such as total phenolic (TPC), total
tannin (TTC), and total
flavonoid content (TFC) in methanolic extract (SlMo-Crd) and subsequent fractions of Salvia moorcroftiana were quantified using standard methods. The in vitro
anticholinesterase (against butyryl
cholinesterase; BChE and
acetylcholinesterase; AChE) and
antioxidant (against 2,2-
diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl; DPPH and 2,2'-Azino-bis (3-ethylbenzothiazoline-6-
sulfonic acid);
ABTS free radicals) potentials of crude (
SIMO-Crd) extract and fractions (
hexane; SlMo-Hex,
chloroform; SlMo-Chl,
ethyl acetate; SlMo-Et) were also determined. The SlMo-Crd at doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg
body weight compared to fractions of 75 and 150 mg/kg
body weight (which were 1/10th of the highest dose tested in acute toxicity tests) were evaluated for their memory enhancement and learning behavior in normal and
scopolamine-induced mental dysfunction in mice using behavioral memory tests such as the Y-maze test and novel object recognition test (NORT). Moreover, the samples were further evaluated for
acetylcholine contents and
biochemical markers such as MDA (
malondialdehyde), SOD (
superoxide dismutase), CAT (
catalase), and GSH (
glutathione peroxidase) levels. The maximum TPC with a value of 114.81 ± 1.15 mg GAE/g, TTC with a value of 106.79 ± 1.07 mg GAE/g, and TFC with a value of 194.29 ± 0.83 mg RE/g were recorded for the SlMo-Chl fraction. Against the DPPH
free radical, the methanolic extract exhibited an IC50 value of 95.29 ± 1.06 µg/mL whereas, among the fractions, the best activity was observed for the SlMo-Chl fraction with an IC50 of 75.02 ± 0.91 µg/mL, followed by SlMoS-Et with an IC50 value of 88.71 ± 0.87 µg/mL. Among the extracts, the SlMo-Chl and SlMo-Et fractions inverted the amnesic effects of
scopolamine in mice effectively. Additionally, the SlMo-Chl and
SIMO-Et fractions considerably enhanced the percent spontaneous alteration performance in the Y-maze test with values of 65.18 ± 2.61/69.51 ± 2.71 and 54.92 ± 2.49/60.41 ± 2.69, respectively, for the tested doses. The discrimination index (DI) in experimental mice was considerably enhanced by the SlMo-Chl in the NORT with values of 59.81 ± 1.21/61.22 ± 1.31% DI correspondingly for the tested doses, as mentioned above, followed by the SlMo-Et extract. The selected plant in the form of extracts ameliorated the effects of
amnesia in mice and could, therefore, be used as a
therapy for
amnesia; however, this is subject to further exploration in other animal models and the isolation of the responsible compounds.