College of Pharmacy, University of Florida, Gainesville, USA; Institut für Pharmazie, Universität Leipzig, Talstraße 33, 04103, Leipzig, Germany.
Phytother Res. 2014 May;28(5):706-13. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5043. Epub 2013 Jul 26.
Several Passiflora species have been used widely as a folk medicine due to their sedative and anxiolytic activities. In Brazil, a number of native plants of the genus Passiflora exist, but only Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa (PE) and Passiflora alata (PA) are of commercial value. Thus, the aim of the present study was to investigate the sedative effects of aqueous extracts obtained from the pericarp as well as from the leaves of PE and PA in mice using radiotelemetry. Aqueous extracts from PE and PA were tested for effects on locomotion over 180 min in 300 mg/kg, 600 mg/kg and 1200 mg/kg, in male C57BL/6J mice after oral administration. For validation of the telemetry system, caffeine (negative control) and midazolam (positive control) were used. All tested extracts decreased locomotor activity in a dose-dependent manner in comparison to the control group. The two lower concentrations of each extract showed the highest decrease in locomotion after 24 min, while 1200 mg/kg had a significant sedative effect already after 18 min. Interestingly, aqueous extracts of PA were more active in comparison to aqueous extracts of PE and the pericarp extracts of both plants showed more pronounced effects on locomotor activity if compared to leaf extracts. In conclusion, the present study represents an innovative, objective approach to measure sedative effects of plant extracts with minimized handling-related stress and remote data collection.
由于具有镇静和抗焦虑活性，几种西番莲属植物已被广泛用作民间药物。在巴西，存在许多该属的本地植物，但只有西番莲（PE）和西番莲（PA）具有商业价值。因此，本研究的目的是使用无线电遥测法研究从 PE 和 PA 的果皮以及叶子中获得的水提取物对小鼠的镇静作用。在口服 300mg/kg、600mg/kg 和 1200mg/kg 后，测试了来自 PE 和 PA 的水提取物对雄性 C57BL/6J 小鼠 180 分钟内运动的影响。为了验证遥测系统，使用了咖啡因（阴性对照）和咪达唑仑（阳性对照）。与对照组相比，所有测试的提取物均以剂量依赖性方式降低了运动活性。每种提取物的两个较低浓度在 24 分钟后显示出最高的运动减少，而 1200mg/kg 在 18 分钟后就表现出显著的镇静作用。有趣的是，与 PE 的水提取物相比，PA 的水提取物更具活性，并且与叶提取物相比，两种植物的果皮提取物对运动活性的影响更为明显。总之，本研究代表了一种新颖的、客观的方法，用于测量植物提取物的镇静作用，同时最小化了与处理相关的应激和远程数据采集。
