Showraki Alireza, Emamghoreishi Masoumeh, Oftadegan Somayeh
Student Research Committee, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran; Department of Neuroscience, School of Advanced Medical Sciences and Technologies, Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran.
Iran J Med Sci. 2016 May;41(3):200-8.
Carum carvi L. (caraway), known as black zeera in Iran, has been indicated for the treatment of epilepsy in Iranian folk medicine. This study evaluated whether the aqueous extract and essential oil of caraway seeds have anticonvulsant effects in mice.
The anticonvulsant effects of the aqueous extract (200, 400, 800, 1600, and 3200 mg/kg, i.p.) and essential oil (25, 50, 100, 200, and 400 mg/kg, i.p.) of caraway were assessed using pentylenetetrazol (PTZ; 95 mg/kg i.p.) induced convulsions. Diazepam (3 mg/kg) was used as positive control. The latency time before the onset of myoclonic, clonic, and tonic convulsions and the percentage of mortality were recorded. In addition, the effect of caraway on neuromuscular coordination was evaluated using the rotarod performance test.
The extract and essential oil dose-dependently increased the latency time to the onset of myoclonic (ED50, 1257 and 62.2 mg/kg, respectively) and clonic (ED50, 929 and 42.3 mg/kg, respectively) seizures. The extract and essential oil of caraway prevented the animals from tonic seizure with ED50s of 2142.4 and 97.6 mg/kg, respectively. The extract and essential oil of caraway protected 28.6 and 71.4% of the animals from PTZ-induced death, respectively, and had no significant effect on neuromuscular coordination.
This study showed that the aqueous extract and essential oil of caraway had anticonvulsant properties. However, the essential oil was more potent and effective than was the aqueous extract as an anticonvulsant. Additionally, the anticonvulsant effect of caraway was not due to a muscle relaxant activity. These findings support the acclaimed antiepileptic effect of caraway in folk medicine and propose its potential use in petit mal seizure in humans.
在伊朗被称为黑孜然的葛缕子（Carum carvi L.），在伊朗民间医学中被用于治疗癫痫。本研究评估了葛缕子种子的水提取物和精油对小鼠是否具有抗惊厥作用。
使用戊四氮（PTZ；腹腔注射95 mg/kg）诱导惊厥，评估葛缕子水提取物（腹腔注射200、400、800、1600和3200 mg/kg）和精油（腹腔注射25、50、100、200和400 mg/kg）的抗惊厥作用。地西泮（3 mg/kg）用作阳性对照。记录肌阵挛、阵挛和强直性惊厥发作前的潜伏期以及死亡率。此外，使用转棒性能测试评估葛缕子对神经肌肉协调性的影响。
提取物和精油剂量依赖性地增加了肌阵挛（ED50分别为1257和62.2 mg/kg）和阵挛（ED50分别为929和42.3 mg/kg）发作的潜伏期。葛缕子提取物和精油分别以2142.4和97.6 mg/kg的ED50预防动物强直性惊厥。葛缕子提取物和精油分别保护28.6%和71.4%的动物免于PTZ诱导的死亡，并且对神经肌肉协调性没有显著影响。
本研究表明，葛缕子的水提取物和精油具有抗惊厥特性。然而，作为抗惊厥剂，精油比水提取物更有效。此外，葛缕子的抗惊厥作用并非由于肌肉松弛活性。这些发现支持了民间医学中葛缕子广受赞誉的抗癫痫作用，并提出了其在人类失神发作中的潜在用途。
