Abstract
A number of currently used drugs have been obtained from medicinal plants which are a major source of drugs. These drugs are either used in their pure form or modified to a semisynthetic drug. Drug discovery through natural product research has been fruitful over the years. Traditionally, Calotropis procera is used extensively in the management of epilepsy. This study is conducted to explore the anticonvulsant effect of a hydroethanolic leaf extract of Calotropis procera (CPE) in murine models. This effect was evaluated using picrotoxin-induced convulsions, strychnine-induced convulsions, and isoniazid- and pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus in mice of both sexes. The results showed that CPE (100-300 mg/kg) exhibited an anticonvulsant effect against strychnine-induced clonic seizures by significantly reducing the duration (p = 0.0068) and frequency (p = 0.0016) of convulsions. The extract (100-300 mg/kg) caused a profound dose-dependent delay in the onset of clonic convulsions induced by picrotoxin (p < 0.0001) and tonic convulsions (p < 0.0001) in mice. The duration of convulsions was reduced significantly also for both clonic and tonic (p < 0.0001) seizures as well. CPE (100-300 mg/kg), showed a profound anticonvulsant effect and reduced mortality in the pilocarpine-induced convulsions. ED50 (~0.1007) determined demonstrated that the extract was less potent than diazepam in reducing the duration and onset of convulsions but had comparable efficacies. Flumazenil—a GABAA receptor antagonist—did not reverse the onset or duration of convulsions produced by the extract in the picrotoxin-induced seizure model. In isoniazid-induced seizure, CPE (300 mg kg1, p.o.) significantly (p < 0.001) delayed the onset of seizure in mice and prolonged latency to death in animals. Overall, the hydroethanolic leaf extract of Calotropis procera possesses anticonvulsant properties.
Highlights
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects people of various age categories and is marked by excessive or abnormal electric activity occurring in either a portion or all of the brain [1]
Fresh leaves of Calotropis procera were collected from Iture (5° 05′ 54.6′′ N, 1°18′ 48.7′′ W), a town near the University of Cape Coast (UCC), from August to December 2015
Leaves of C. procera were authenticated by Mr Fynn, a botanist, at the School of Biological Sciences Herbarium, University of Cape Coast, and the voucher number UCC/SBSH/15/M044 was assigned
Summary
Epilepsy is a neurological condition that affects people of various age categories and is marked by excessive or abnormal electric activity occurring in either a portion or all of the brain [1]. Despite the broad range of pharmacological agents approved for patients with epilepsy, many people are still nonresponsive or refractory to antiepileptic drug therapy, rendering pharmacoresistance one of the most significant. Neural Plasticity clinical issues in the management of the disease [3]. These treatments only resolve epilepsy symptoms and do not properly prevent the occurrence of seizures or permanently stop seizures [4]. Better, and safer antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) with enhanced clinical profiles need to be developed. Traditional medicine has contributed greatly to the discovery of many drugs, including morphine, digoxin, quinine, and atropine [5]
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