Citrus limon L. (lemon) seed extract shows neuro-modulatory activity in an in vivo thiopental-sodium sleep model by reducing the sleep onset and enhancing the sleep duration.

Md A.K Azad,Muniruddin Ahmed,Ghulam Md Ashraf,Fahadul Islam,Md Mominur Rahman,Anwar Parvez,Mohammad Fahad Ullah

doi:10.31083/j.jin2101042

Abstract

Citrus limon L. is an ingenious alternative medication and has a broad scope in managing several health conditions as part of natural remedies. Recently, medicinal plants have witnessed incredible consideration worldwide in the field of neuroscience for remedial intervention. The present work has investigated the phytochemical compounds and neuropharmacological potential of the seed extract of Citrus limon as a step to partially validate its formulations as nutraceuticals using an in vivo model. Diverse phytochemical groups such as alkaloids, glycosides, flavonoids, tannins, gums, saponins, steroids were qualitatively identified through colorimetric methods utilizing standard compounds. The neuropharmacological properties were studied in Swiss albino mice with the sleep time induced by thiopental sodium taken as an end-point, in standard hole cross, hole board, and open-field experiments at varying doses of 50 and 100 mg/kg body weight. Phytochemical screening showed that alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, steroids, and glycosides are present in the aqueous extract of the seed. The extracts demonstrated a significant reduction in sleep onset and enhanced the sleep duration in a dose-dependent manner in thiopental sodium-induced sleeping time, along with a marked decrease in unconstrained locomotors and explorative properties in both hole cross and open field tests. Moreover, in the hole board study, the extracts minimized the count of head dips observed in the treated mice. The results shown in this study demonstrate that Citrus limon extracts have neuropharmacological properties that can be further examined for their potential role as an adjuvant with conventional medications or nutraceuticals.

Highlights

A stressed lifestyle has been linked to an assortment of psychiatric disorders, and evidence suggests that depression is an unavoidable medical concern in these disorders [1,2,3,4]
Thiopental sodium is a standard drug for the induction of anaesthesia and hypnosis
The reduction in the sleep onset and an enhanced sleep duration induced in this drug model by the lemon seed extract provide a potential adjuvant for the qualitative augmentation of the existing protocols

Summary

Introduction

A stressed lifestyle has been linked to an assortment of psychiatric disorders, and evidence suggests that depression is an unavoidable medical concern in these disorders [1,2,3,4]. Restorative herbs, are commonly known to be the primary armamentarium of concoction compounds with enormous remedial potential. Neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression are common, corresponding to a state of mental illness that may result in severe symptoms such as sadness, feelings of guilt and loss of interest which affect sleeping, dietary intake, cognitive and psychomotor guided daily activities. The actual etiology of depression and anxiety is still unknown. These may arise due to continued disruption of the antioxidant defense system and an enhanced redox imbalance or oxidative stress [9]. The redox stress in the brain supports cellular conditions that cause neurological damage and related cognitive deteriorations [10,11,12,13]

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Conclusion