Pharmacological Evaluation of Alcoholic Extract of Clitoria ternatea Root for Anxiolytic and Anticonvulsant Activity

Abstract

Recent scientifi c studies have indicated that some of the same medicinal herbs used in traditional medicine to treat epilepsy may also have anticonvulsant qualities, suggesting that they may be a possible source of novel anticonvulsants. Anticonvulsant properties have been studied in animal models. Clitoria ternatea Linn’s ethanolic root extract was examined for antiepileptic, anxiolytic, and phytochemical properties. Phenytoin 25 mg/kg, as a reference medicine, the extract was tested against strychnine-induced convulsion in rats at oral doses of 200 and 400 mg/kg. The elevated plus maze and staircase test were used to examine mice’s anxiolytic activity with lorazepam (the gold standard) at 0.05 mg/kg. When using a strychnine-induced convulsion model, the ethanolic extract markedly accelerated the start of convulsions. In the elevated plus maze test, Clitoria ternatea Linn ethanolic root extract at 200, 400, and standard doses signifi cantly increased the time and number of the entry in open arms compared to the control group. In a staircase test, the ethanolic root extract of Clitoria ternatea increased the number of steps climbed and lowered rearing compared to the control group. Docking scores in mcule software indicate that interactions with the glycine agonist (PDB: 5I57) and the GABA agonist (PDB: 4MS3) receptors for epilepsy and anxiety, respectively, are highly eff ective. Evidence for the biochemical evaluation of GABA, anticonvulsant, and anxiolytic action, as well as in-silico activities, of the ethanolic extract of Clitoria ternatea was reported in this work.