Suppression of exploration and locomotion in adult Wistar rats following quinine administration

摘要

The effect of quinine commonly used for the treatment of chloroquine resistant cases and cerebral malaria on exploration in Wistar rats was investigated. Adult male rats (n= 27), weighing between 150 and 190 g were randomly selected into two treatments groups (n=9) and control (n=9). Each control rat in Group I received intramuscularly injection of physiological saline. The rats in Group II were injected intramuscularly with quinine, 20 mg/kg for a starting dose, followed by 10 mg/kg 8 hourly for 7 days. The Group III rats received the same treatment as Group II, but were subjected to a withdrawal period of one week after the treatment. The exploration and locomotion of treated rats were significantly suppressed (P < 0.05) by quinine. The frequency of line crossing reduced significantly from 30.8 ± 5.7 in Group I to 2.2 ± 0.93 in Group II and 2.5 ± 1.1 in Group III rats. The frequency of hinding also reduced significantly from 7.4 ± 1.3 in group I to 0.7 ± 0.4 in Group II and 0.9 ± 0.3 in Group III. The marked decrease observed in exploratory activities in the treated groups might be the consequence of degeneration of cerebellar cortex.