Abstract
BackgroundThe aerial parts of Vitis vinifera (common grape or European grape) have been widely used in Ayurveda to treat a variety of common and stress related disorders. In the present investigation, the seed extract of V. vinifera was evaluated for antistress activity in normal and stress induced rats. Furthermore, the extract was studied for nootropic activity in rats and in-vitro antioxidant potential to correlate its antistress activity.MethodsFor the evaluation of antistress activity, groups of rats (n = 6) were subjected to forced swim stress one hour after daily treatment of V. vinifera extract. Urinary vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and ascorbic acid were selected as non-invasive biomarkers to assess the antistress activity. The 24 h urinary excretion of vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and ascorbic acid were determined by spectrophotometric methods in all groups under normal and stressed conditions. The nootropic activity of the extract as determined from acquisition, retention and retrieval in rats was studied by conditioned avoidance response using Cook's pole climbing apparatus. The in vitro antioxidant activity was determined based on the ability of V. vinifera to scavenge hydroxyl radicals.ResultsDaily administration of V. vinifera at doses of 100, 200 and 300 mg/kg body weight one hour prior to induction of stress inhibited the stress induced urinary biochemical changes in a dose dependent manner. However, no change in the urinary excretion of VMA and ascorbic acid was observed in normal animals at all the doses studied. The cognition, as determined by the acquisition, retention and recovery in rats was observed to be dose dependent. The extract also produced significant inhibition of hydroxyl radicals in comparison to ascorbic acid in a dose dependent manner.ConclusionThe present study provides scientific support for the antistress (adaptogenic), antioxidant and nootropic activities of V. vinifera seed extract and substantiate the traditional claims for the usage of grape fruits and seeds in stress induced disorders.
Highlights
The aerial parts of Vitis vinifera have been widely used in Ayurveda to treat a variety of common and stress related disorders
Antistress activity The urinary data of vanillylmandelic acid (VMA) and ascorbic acid observed in various phases of the experiment are shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 2 respectively
Induction of forced swim stress to the animals produced a significant increase in VMA and decrease in ascorbic acid excretion compared to their respective basal excretion in normal condition
Summary
The aerial parts of Vitis vinifera (common grape or European grape) have been widely used in Ayurveda to treat a variety of common and stress related disorders. The seed extract of V. vinifera was evaluated for antistress activity in normal and stress induced rats. The extract was studied for nootropic activity in rats and in-vitro antioxidant potential to correlate its antistress activity. Stress can be described as the sum total of all the reactions of the body, which disturb the normal physiological condition and result in a state of threatened homeostasis. Stress represents a reaction of the body to a stimulus that tends to alter its normal physiological equilibrium or homeostasis and has been defined as a nonspecific response of the body to any demand imposed on it [1]. The drugs of plant origin are gaining increasing popularity and are being investigated for remedies of a number of disorders including antistress (adaptogenic) activity [3]. The initial studies on Ocimum sanctum [4], Withania somnifera [5] opened a vast area of research and substantial work has been carried out on plants such as Eleuthrococcus senticosus and Panax ginseng [6]
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