Neurobehavioral activity study of methanolic whole plants extract of Cyperus rotundus Linn.

Abstract

Background: Cyperus rotundus commonly known as “nutgrass” is extensively used in traditional Chinese and Indian Ayurvedic medicine. It is traditionally used to treat fevers, digestive disorders, wound, and bruises. Materials and Methods: This study evaluated the sedative-hypnotic and antidepressant effect of the methanolic extract of C. rotundus (MECR). To perform this study, the whole plants of C. rotundus were taken for extraction with methanol following soaking process and tested for acute toxicity on mice first. The sedative and hypnotic activity were then studied performing hole board and open field tests in albino mice model at the doses of 100 and 200 mg/kg body weight of MECR. Diazepam at the dose of 1 mg/kg was utilized as a standard drug in both experiments. Similarly, antidepressant activity test was also performed using forced swimming test and tail suspension test. Nortriptyline was used as a standard to assess antidepressant activity. Results: We found that MECR produced an insignificant dose-dependent effects against locomotors activity of mice both in hole cross and open field tests. Besides, it was also noticed after analyzing forced swimming and tail suspension test that it has no significant antidepressant activity. Conclusion: Taken together, our study suggests that MECR do not possess notable sedative-hypnotic and antidepressant or neurobehavioral properties.