Laboratorio de Comportamiento Reproductivo, Escuela de Medicina Veterinaria y Zootecnia, Universidad Autónoma de Tlaxcala, Tlaxcala CP. 90000, Tlaxcala, México.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Sep 28;143(2):592-8. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.07.022. Epub 2012 Jul 31.
Cihuapatli is the Nahuatl name assigned to some medicinal plants grouped in the genus Montanoa, where Montanoa frutescens (Family: Asteraceae, Tribe: Heliantheae) is included. The crude extract from these plants has been used for centuries in the Mexican traditional medicine as a remedy for reproductive impairments and mood disorders. Experimental studies have systematically corroborated the traditional use of cihuapatli on reproductive impairments and sexual motivation, however, the effect on mood and "nervous" disorders, remains to be explored.
The anxiolytic-like effect of aqueous crude extract of M. frutescens (25, 50 and 75 mg/kg) was investigated in male Wistar rats evaluated in the elevated plus-maze and compared with several doses of diazepam (1, 2 and 4 mg/kg) as a reference anxiolytic drug. Picrotoxin (1 mg/kg), a noncompetitive antagonist of the GABA(A) receptor, was used in experimental procedures to evaluate if this receptor could be involved in the anxiolytic-like effects produced by M. frutescens. To discard hypoactivity, hyperactivity, or no changes associated with treatments, which could interfere with the behavioral activity in the elevated plus-maze, rats were subjected to the open field test.
M. frutescens at 50 mg/kg showed anxiolytic-like activity similarly to 2 mg/kg of diazepam, without disrupts in general motor activity. The anxiolytic-like effect of M. frutescens detected in the elevated plus-maze was blocked by picrotoxin, indicating that GABA(A) receptors are involved in the modulation of this effect.
The results corroborate the use of M. frutescens in folk Mexican ethnomedicine as a potential anxiolytic agent and suggest that this effect is mediated by the GABA(A) receptors. Additionally, some sedative effects with high doses of M. frutescens were detected in the present study.
Cihuapatli 是一些药用植物的纳瓦特尔语名称，这些植物被归为 Montanoa 属，其中包括 Montanoa frutescens（菊科，旋覆花族）。这些植物的粗提取物在墨西哥传统医学中已被使用了几个世纪，用于治疗生殖障碍和情绪障碍。实验研究系统地证实了 Cihuapatli 在生殖障碍和性动机方面的传统用途，然而，其对情绪和“神经”障碍的影响仍有待探索。
在高架十字迷宫中评估雄性 Wistar 大鼠，研究 Montanoa frutescens 水提粗提物（25、50 和 75mg/kg）的类似抗焦虑作用，并与几种剂量的地西泮（1、2 和 4mg/kg）进行比较，地西泮是一种参考抗焦虑药物。在实验过程中使用了培哚普利酮（1mg/kg），一种 GABA(A) 受体的非竞争性拮抗剂，以评估该受体是否参与 Montanoa frutescens 产生的类似抗焦虑作用。为了排除与治疗相关的低活动度、高活动度或无变化，这些变化可能会干扰高架十字迷宫中的行为活动，大鼠首先进行了旷场试验。
Montanoa frutescens 在 50mg/kg 时表现出类似 2mg/kg 地西泮的抗焦虑作用，而不会破坏一般运动活动。在高架十字迷宫中检测到的 Montanoa frutescens 的类似抗焦虑作用被培哚普利酮阻断，表明 GABA(A) 受体参与了这种作用的调节。
这些结果证实了 Montanoa frutescens 在墨西哥民间民族医学中的使用，作为一种潜在的抗焦虑药物，并表明这种作用是通过 GABA(A) 受体介导的。此外，在本研究中还检测到 Montanoa frutescens 高剂量时的一些镇静作用。
