Koshovyi Oleh, Dolgošev Getter, Meegama Udhan Wimukthi, Herodes Koit, Hrytsyk Yurii, Grytsyk Lyubov, Grytsyk Andriy, Kireyev Igor, Heinämäki Jyrki, Raal Ain
Institute of Pharmacy, Faculty of Medicine, University of Tartu, Nooruse 1, 50411 Tartu, Estonia.
Institute of Chemistry, Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Tartu, 50411 Tartu, Estonia.
Plants (Basel). 2025 Aug 26;14(17):2651. doi: 10.3390/plants14172651.
Vervain ( L., Verbenaceae family) is a perennial plant which grows widely in Europe. It is rich in iridoids, phenolic acids, phenylpropanoid glycosides, flavonoids and terpenoids. Verbena has traditionally been used in folk medicine to calm the nervous system, but there is a lack of scientific data about it. The aim of this study was to explore and characterise the chemical profile and neurotropic effects of dry extracts and their amino acid-based preparations. We determined a total of eight main phenolic compounds and 17 amino acids in the dry extracts. To evaluate the neurotropic effects of the verbena extracts, the following behavioural pharmacology tests were used: Open Field Test, Elevated Plus Maze, Black-and-White Box Test and Tail Suspension Test. The dry aqueous-ethanolic extract (extractant 70% ethanol) demonstrated strong anxiolytic and antidepressant effects, while its dry modified extracts with valine and arginine consistently exhibited pronounced sedative activity across all studies. For example, the Tail Suspension Test demonstrated that the total immobility time in animals receiving the dry aqueous-ethanolic extract was the lowest, being 1.22-fold ( < 0.05) lower than in control animals and 2.25-fold ( < 0.05) lower than in the animals treated with the reference drug preparation ("Sedaphyton"). A novel aqueous-based gel formulation feasible for semi-solid extrusion (SSE) 3D printing was designed. This printing gel enables the fabrication of new oral dosage forms for dry extracts. The effects of pharmaceutical preparations on the human central nervous system require clinical studies.
马鞭草（马鞭草科，马鞭草属）是一种多年生植物，在欧洲广泛生长。它富含环烯醚萜类、酚酸类、苯丙素苷类、黄酮类和萜类化合物。传统上，马鞭草在民间医学中用于镇静神经系统，但缺乏关于它的科学数据。本研究的目的是探索并表征干提取物及其氨基酸基制剂的化学特征和神经趋向性作用。我们在干提取物中总共测定了8种主要酚类化合物和17种氨基酸。为了评估马鞭草提取物的神经趋向性作用，使用了以下行为药理学测试：旷场试验、高架十字迷宫试验、黑白箱试验和悬尾试验。干水醇提取物（提取剂为70%乙醇）表现出强烈的抗焦虑和抗抑郁作用，而其用缬氨酸和精氨酸改性的干提取物在所有研究中始终表现出明显的镇静活性。例如，悬尾试验表明，接受干水醇提取物的动物的总不动时间最短，比对照动物低1.22倍（<0.05），比用参比药物制剂（“Sedaphyton”）处理的动物低2.25倍（<0.05）。设计了一种适用于半固体挤出（SSE）3D打印的新型水基凝胶制剂。这种打印凝胶能够制造用于干提取物的新型口服剂型。药物制剂对人类中枢神经系统的作用需要进行临床研究。
