Institute of Experimental Medicine, Department of Behavioral Neurobiology, Budapest, Hungary.
Phytother Res. 2010 Nov;24(11):1605-13. doi: 10.1002/ptr.3181.
Echinacea preparations are traditionally used to treat upper respiratory infections and inflammations. No psychotropic effects of Echinacea have been reported so far, although some recently reported active constituents are behaviorally active. Prompted by these findings, the anxiolytic potential of five different Echinacea preparations was evaluated. Three of these decreased anxiety but two of them had a very narrow effective dose range. Only one extract decreased anxiety within a wide dose-range (3-8 mg/kg). Anxiolytic effects were consistently seen in three different tests of anxiety, the elevated plus-maze, social interaction and shock-induced social avoidance tests. No locomotor suppressant effects were seen at any dose. Noteworthy, the doses that showed anxiolytic effects in the present study were much lower than those used in the laboratory models of the traditional indications. Chlordiazepoxide robustly decreased anxiety-like behavior in all tests but suppressed locomotion at higher doses. Perceived and real risks of conventional medications increase the demand for alternative therapies, provided that these are safe and efficient. Earlier evidence shows that Echinacea preparations have an excellent safety profile, while our findings suggest for the first time that certain preparations have a considerable anxiolytic potential. Further research is required to identify factors that differentiate efficient and inefficient preparations.
紫锥菊制剂传统上被用于治疗上呼吸道感染和炎症。迄今为止，尚未报道紫锥菊具有精神活性作用，尽管最近报道的一些活性成分具有行为活性。受这些发现的启发，评估了五种不同的紫锥菊制剂的抗焦虑潜力。其中三种制剂具有降低焦虑的作用，但其中两种制剂的有效剂量范围很窄。只有一种提取物在较宽的剂量范围内（3-8mg/kg）具有降低焦虑的作用。在高架十字迷宫、社交互动和电击诱导的社交回避测试这三种不同的焦虑测试中，均观察到了抗焦虑作用。在任何剂量下均未观察到运动抑制作用。值得注意的是，在本研究中显示抗焦虑作用的剂量远低于传统适应症的实验室模型中使用的剂量。地西泮在所有测试中均能显著降低焦虑样行为，但在较高剂量下会抑制运动。由于常规药物的感知和实际风险增加了对替代疗法的需求，只要这些疗法安全有效。早期证据表明，紫锥菊制剂具有极好的安全性，而我们的研究结果首次表明，某些制剂具有相当大的抗焦虑潜力。需要进一步研究以确定区分有效和无效制剂的因素。
