Abstract
Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst. subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro (family: Anacardiaceae) is traditionally used in South African folk medicine for the treatment, management and control of a variety of human ailments, including childhood convulsions and epilepsy. In the present study, we have investigated the anticonvulsant activity of the plant’s stem-bark aqueous extract (SBE) against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-, picrotoxin (PCT)-, and bicuculline (BCL)-induced seizures in mice. Phenobarbital and diazepam were used as reference anticonvulsant drugs for comparison. Like the reference anticonvulsant agents used, S. birrea SBE (100–800 mg/kg p.o.) significantly (P 0.05). The plant extract also depressed the central nervous system. In conclusion, the findings of the present experimental animal study indicate that S. birrea SBE possesses anticonvulsant activity, thus lending pharmacological support to the suggested folkloric, ethnomedical uses of the plant extract in the management, control, and treatment of childhood convulsions and epilepsy in some rural communities of South Africa.
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