Psychobiological Assessment of Smoke of Agarwood (Aquilaria spp.) in Male Rats

Abstract

Burning of agarwood as incense has been part of oriental religious and cultural ceremonies through the millennia. To evaluate effects of agarwood smoke, ten adult male rats were divided into two equal groups. Male rats were either exposed to compressed air or compressed agarwood smoke for 1 hour, once a day, for four days per week throughout 28 days. Standard behavioral rat models for the evaluation of anxiety, depression, memory and stress and steroid hormone profile were examined. Smoke of agarwood significantly depressed swim time in forced swimming test. No differences were found between two groups for object recognition in object recognition test, spatial memory in Morris water maze, anxiety in elevated plus-maze, or stress in the tail pinch stressor paradigm. Correspondingly, plasma level of cortisol did not differ due to exposure. However, plasma testosterone level was significantly decreased following exposure to agarwood smoke. This result suggests that agarwood smoke may function as an endocrine disruptor.