Anuradha H, Srikumar B N, Shankaranarayana Rao B S, Lakshmana M
Department of Pharmacology, Government College of Pharmacy, Bangalore, India.
J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2008;115(1):35-42. doi: 10.1007/s00702-007-0821-6. Epub 2007 Dec 18.
Chronic stress is known to result in impairment of learning and memory and precipitate several affective disorders including depression and anxiety. Drugs of natural origin are known to possess several effects on the central nervous system and are emerging as promising alternative therapies. In this context, the hydroalcoholic extract of Euphorbia hirta (Eh) was evaluated for anxiolytic property in chronically stressed rats subjected to elevated plus maze (EPM) and open field test (OFT). Eh treatment (200 mg/kg, p.o.; seven days) showed marked anti-anxiety activity in chronic immobilization stress. In contrast, the forced swim stress-induced anxiety was only partially decreased by Eh. Co-treatment of rats with flumazenil (0.5 mg/kg, i.p.), bicuculline (1 mg/kg, i.p.) or picrotoxin (1 mg/kg, i.p.) resulted in a significant reduction of anxiolytic effect of Eh indicating that its actions are mediated through GABA(A) receptor-benzodiazepine receptor-Cl(-) channel complex. Thus, our studies indicate that Eh is a potential anxiolytic drug, which might be beneficial in the treatment of stress-induced anxiety disorders.
已知慢性应激会导致学习和记忆受损，并引发包括抑郁症和焦虑症在内的多种情感障碍。天然来源的药物对中枢神经系统具有多种作用，正逐渐成为有前景的替代疗法。在此背景下，对大戟草（Eh）的水醇提取物在接受高架十字迷宫（EPM）和旷场试验（OFT）的慢性应激大鼠中的抗焦虑特性进行了评估。Eh治疗（200mg/kg，口服；7天）在慢性固定应激中显示出明显的抗焦虑活性。相比之下，强迫游泳应激诱导的焦虑仅被Eh部分降低。用氟马西尼（0.5mg/kg，腹腔注射）、荷包牡丹碱（1mg/kg，腹腔注射）或印防己毒素（1mg/kg，腹腔注射）联合处理大鼠，导致Eh的抗焦虑作用显著降低，表明其作用是通过GABA(A)受体-苯二氮䓬受体-Cl(-)通道复合物介导的。因此，我们的研究表明Eh是一种潜在的抗焦虑药物，可能对治疗应激诱导的焦虑症有益。
