Anxiolytic and antipyretic effects of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Solanum aethiopicum (Solanaceae) in the white mouse Mus musculus Swiss (Muridae)

Abstract

The anxiolytic and antipyretic effects of the aqueous extract of the leaves of Solanum aethiopicum (plant used in traditional medicine in Africa) were evaluated by oral administration of doses 17.5; 43.75; 87.5 and 175 mg/kg to mice of the Mus musculus Swiss strain. Four psychopharmacological tests were performed: the stress-induced hyperthermia test; the elevated plus maze test; the open arena test and the hole board test. A significant decrease in stress-induced hyperthermia was observed in mice receiving the 175 mg/kg dose (1°C) unlike those treated with distilled water (3°C). The 175 mg/kg dose of S. aethiopicum extract and diazepam significantly increase the number of entries and the percentage of time spent in the open arms of the maze. Diazepam and doses of S. aethiopicum significantly decrease the number of uprights and the number of head tilts. Solanum aethiopicum significantly increases the number of lines crossed and the time spent in the center of the open arena. On the hole board, there was a significant increase in the number of head tilts (11.2±1,64) in the mice that received the 175 mg/kg dose of S. aethiopicum and in the number of lines crossed in the mice treated with all doses of the extract. This shows that the extract of S. aethiopicum would contain compounds with antipyretic and anxiolytic properties.