College of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing 400716, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Mar 2;128(1):148-53. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.12.043. Epub 2010 Jan 4.
Many plants in the genus Passiflora have long been used in traditional folk medicines as a remedy for many neurogenic diseases in many countries. A number of species of the genus was studied about their neuropharmacological activities, but the results were inconsistent. No literature reported neuropharmacological studies on Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa as yet. The present study was aimed at evaluating the anxiolytic and sedative activities of Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa.
Swiss albino mice were used as experimental animals in elevated plus-maze (EPM) test and spontaneous activity (SA) test to assay the behavioral effects of ethanolic extract (EE) of the aerial part of Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa and its fractions, viz. petrol ether extract (PEE), ethyl acetate extract (EAE), n-BuOH extract (BE) and aqueous extract (AE), together with subfractions of BE, viz. BEF-I, BEF-II, BEF-III, BEF-IV and isoorientin, a flavonoid component isolated from BEF-III.
In the EPM test, single-dose oral administration of EE (300 mg/kg and 400mg/kg), BE (125 mg/kg and 200mg/kg), AE (200mg/kg and 300 mg/kg), BEF-I (200mg/kg), BEF-II (200mg/kg), BEF-III (100mg/kg), or isoorientin (20mg/kg) resulted in anxiolytic-like effects, but a sedative-like activity was produced at higher doses, such as 300 mg/kg of BE, 200mg/kg of BEF-III, or 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg of isoorientin. The results of the SA test manifested that treatment with 400mg/kg of EE, 300 mg/kg of BE, or 40 mg/kg and 80 mg/kg of isoorientin compromised motor activity in mice, which are in line with the results of the EPM test.
The aerial part of Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa was anxiolytic at low dose but sedative at high dose. Flavonoids are important active constituents. Since AE contained little flavonoids, it was conjectured that there were other components responsible for the anxiolytic effect of Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa besides flavonoids.
在许多国家，西番莲属的许多植物长期以来一直被用作传统民间药物，以治疗多种神经源性疾病。该属的一些种已被研究其神经药理学活性，但结果不一致。目前尚无文献报道西番莲属植物 Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa 的神经药理学研究。本研究旨在评价西番莲属植物 Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa 的抗焦虑和镇静活性。
采用瑞士白化小鼠进行高架十字迷宫（EPM）试验和自发活动（SA）试验，以测定西番莲属植物 Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa 的地上部分及其提取物（PEE、EAE、n-BuOH 提取物（BE）和水提物（AE））及其 BE 的亚组分，即 BEF-I、BEF-II、BEF-III、BEF-IV 和异荭草素，一种从 BEF-III 中分离得到的黄酮类成分的行为效应。
在 EPM 试验中，单次口服给药 EE（300mg/kg 和 400mg/kg）、BE（125mg/kg 和 200mg/kg）、AE（200mg/kg 和 300mg/kg）、BEF-I（200mg/kg）、BEF-II（200mg/kg）、BEF-III（100mg/kg）或异荭草素（20mg/kg）产生类似抗焦虑的作用，但在更高剂量下，如 300mg/kg 的 BE、200mg/kg 的 BEF-III 或 40mg/kg 和 80mg/kg 的异荭草素，产生镇静作用。SA 试验的结果表明，400mg/kg 的 EE、300mg/kg 的 BE 或 40mg/kg 和 80mg/kg 的异荭草素处理会损害小鼠的运动活性，这与 EPM 试验的结果一致。
西番莲属植物 Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa 在低剂量时具有抗焦虑作用，在高剂量时具有镇静作用。类黄酮是重要的活性成分。由于 AE 中含有较少的类黄酮，因此推测除类黄酮外，西番莲属植物 Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa 还含有其他具有抗焦虑作用的成分。
