Anxiolytic and Hypnotic Effects of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Aerial Parts of Echium italicum L. in Mice

Hossein Hosseinzadeh,Shabnam Shahandeh,Shabnam Shahsavand

doi:10.5812/jjnpp.4589

Abstract

Anxiolytic and Hypnotic Effects of Aqueous and Ethanolic Extracts of Aerial Parts of Echium italicum L. in Mice

Highlights

Research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has clearly improved in recent decades
Preliminary phytochemical tests indicated that the aqueous and ethanolic extracts were rich in flavonoids and tannins
The results showed that the aqueous extract at doses of 0.6, 1.2 and 2.1 g/kg, and ethanolic extract at doses of 1.2 and 2.1 g/kg, increased the percentage of open arm entries and the time spent in them, decreased latency to sleep and increased total sleep time

Summary

Introduction

Research in the area of herbal psychopharmacology has clearly improved in recent decades. Alkannin (S-enantiomer), shikonin (R-enantiomer) and related derivatives are potent pharmaceutical substances with a well-established and broad spectrum of properties, such as wound healing [2, 3, 6], antibacterial [7], anti-HIV [8], anti-tumor [9, 10], anti-inflammatory [11,12,13] and antioxidant activities [14]. These compounds have been used as colorants in cosmetics and food industries [15]. A home-made ointment prepared from pulverized roots of E. italicum L. (EI) and lard, traditionally used in Macedonian medicine, has long been known to exhibit strong anti-inflammatory and wound healing effects, and these reddish roots may contain derivatives of either shikonin or alkannin, enantiomers with similar chemical and biological properties [4]

Objectives

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Conclusion