Guru Gobind Singh College of Pharmacy, Yamunanagar, Haryana, India.
Pharm Biol. 2010 Oct;48(10):1091-6. doi: 10.3109/13880200903490521.
The clinical applications of well-known benzodiazepines as anxiolytic agents are limited because of their side effects. Therefore, the development of new pharmacological agents, from medicinal plants, is well justified.
Among medicinal plants, Gelsemium sempervirens (L.) Aiton. (Loganiaceae) has been recommended for relief of anxiety in traditional folk medicines. Nevertheless, no pharmacological studies have so far evaluated it in this regard. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the anxiolytic effects of various extracts of the roots and rhizomes of G. sempervirens.
Petroleum ether, chloroform, methanol, and water extracts of G. sempervirens were prepared by successive extractions using a Soxhlet apparatus, and subsequently evaluated for antianxiety activity using the elevated plus maze model. Diazepam was used as standard drug.
Among various extracts, the methanol extract of G. sempervirens exhibited significant increases in open arm entries and mean time spent in open arms at the dosage of 150 mg/kg. A fraction (F9.4) derived from the methanol extract was also observed to exhibit significant anxiolytic activity at the dose level of 10 mg/kg in the elevated plus maze test.
The present study clearly demonstrated that the methanol extract exerts an anxiolytic effect on mice, and it could serve as a new approach for the treatment of anxiety.
由于副作用，众所周知的苯二氮䓬类药物作为抗焦虑药物的临床应用受到限制。因此，从药用植物中开发新的药理制剂是有充分理由的。
在药用植物中，钩吻（Loganiaceae）已被推荐用于缓解传统民间药物中的焦虑。然而，迄今为止，尚未有药理学研究对此进行评估。本研究旨在研究钩吻根和根茎的各种提取物的抗焦虑作用。
使用索氏提取器通过连续提取制备钩吻的石油醚、氯仿、甲醇和水提取物，并随后使用高架十字迷宫模型评估其抗焦虑活性。地西泮用作标准药物。
在各种提取物中，钩吻的甲醇提取物在 150mg/kg 的剂量下显示出开放臂进入次数和在开放臂上花费的平均时间的显著增加。从甲醇提取物获得的一个馏分（F9.4）在高架十字迷宫试验中也观察到在 10mg/kg 的剂量水平下具有显著的抗焦虑活性。
本研究清楚地表明，甲醇提取物对小鼠具有抗焦虑作用，它可以作为治疗焦虑的新方法。
