final .cdr

RGUHS Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Evaluation of Anticonvulsant Activity of Carissa spinarum Root Extract
1* 2 3
Karunakar Hegde , D Satyanarayana and Arun B Joshi
1 Department of Pharmacology, Srinivas College of Pharmacy, Valachil, Post- Parangepete, Mangalore- 574 143, India
2 Department of Pharmachemistry, N G S M Institute of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Mangalore - 574 160, India
3 Department of Pharmacognosy, Goa College of Pharmacy, Panaji - 403 001, Goa, India
A B S T R A C T
INTRODUCTION
Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder and a collective
term given to a group of syndromes that involve
spontaneous, intermittent, abnormal electrical activity in
the brain which affect upto 5% of the world population in
their lifetime. The current therapy of epilepsy with modern
antiepileptic drugs is associated with side effects, doserelated
and chronic toxicity, teratogenic effects and
approximately 30% of the patients continue to have seizures
with current antiepileptic drugs therapy. Traditional systems
of medicine are popular in developing countries and up to
80% of the population relies on traditional medicines or folk
remedies for their primary health care need. Medicinal
plants are believed to be an important source of new
1
chemical substances with potential therapeutic effects .
Therefore, the need for more effective and less toxic
antiepileptic drugs still exists.
Carissa spinarum Linn. (Carissa opaca Stapf ex Haines, Family:
Apocynaceae) is a thorny, evergreen shrub, widely
distributed throughout the drier, sandy and rocky soils of
2
India, Ceylon, Myanmar and Thailand . The roots of this
plant have long been prescribed in the indigenous system of
medicine as purgative, for the treatment of rheumatism,
cleaning worm infested wounds of animals and in snake
Original Research Article
In the present study the ethanol extract of the roots of C. spinarum (100, 200 and 400 mg/kg, p.o.) was studied for its
anticonvulsant effect on maximal electroshock, pentylenetetrazole and picrotoxin-induced seizures in mice. The latency
of tonic convulsion and the number of animals protected from tonic convulsion were noted. The ERCS at dose levels of
100, 200 and 400 mg/kg significantly reduced the latency of tonic seizures and at 200 and 400 mg/kg, respectively
protected 25 and 62.5 % of the mice used from tonic seizures induced by maximal electroshock. The ERCS in the doses
of 200 and 400 mg/kg respectively protected 50 and 62.5 % of animals used and significantly delayed
pentylenetetrazole-induced tonic seizures. Similarly, the same doses of ERCS significantly delayed the onset of tonic
seizures produced by picrotoxin. The data suggest that the ethanol extract of the roots of C. spinarum may possess
significant anticonvulsant activity via non-specific mechanisms, since it has been shown to delay the latency of seizures
produced by the convulsive models affecting electrical discharge in the brain, gabaergic system and glutaminergic
systems.
Keywords: Anticonvulsant, Carissa spinarum, Electro shock, Seizures
RGUHS Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences
Received: 31/01/2011, Modified: 28/02/2011, Accepted: 07/03/2011
64
2
bite . Previous phytochemical investigations revealed the
3 4
presence of caffeic acid , ursolic acid, naringin , various
5 6
cardiac glycosides , germacrane sesquiterpene and lignans .
Earlier studies have shown that the extract of the plant
7 4
possesses cardiotonic , antibacterial , potent antioxidant
6
activity . Moreover the plant is also known to show CNS
8
depressant activity . In the Western Ghats region of India,
the decoctions of the roots of this plant are used as effective
remedies in the management and/or control of convulsions
and epilepsy. Since no systemic study has been reported in
the literature to explore the folklore claim, the present study
was undertaken to evaluate possible actions of C. spinarum
root extract on convulsive and epileptic disorders in mice
using electrically and chemically-induced seizures.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Plant Material and Preparation of the Extract: The
roots of C. spinarum were collected from Sirsi, Uttara
Kannada District, Karnataka, India during May 2007. It
was authenticated by Dr. Gopalakrishna Bhat, Department
of Botany, Poorna Prajna College, Udupi, Karnataka,
India. A voucher specimen no. 105b is deposited in the
herbarium of our institute. Fresh roots were collected and
dried by means of shade drying. The shade dried roots of the
plant (500 g) were soaked in 1.5 L of 95% ethyl alcohol and
extracted in the cold for 4 days with occasional shaking. After
4 days the ethanol layer was decanted off. The process was
repeated for 4 times. The solvent from the total extract was
RJPS, Apr-Jun, 2011/ Vol 1/ Issue 1