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Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for attenuation of CNS by aqueous extract from Citrus aurantium (CaL) flowers in rat

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Abstract

Anxiety disorders have a relatively high prevalence in most countries. Chemical drugs used to treat anxiety have some unwanted side effects. Therefore, using medicinal plants is useful. Citrus aurantium L. (CaL) flowers are used in Iran to treat anxiety as a folk medicine. We investigated its anxiolytic and sedative effects. We used elevated plus maze and pentobarbital sodium sleeping time tests to evaluate the anxiolytic and sedative effects of CaL flowers on CNS, respectively. In addition, by using extracellular single unit recording technique, we evaluated the depressant action of CaL on neuronal activity of basolateral amygdale (BLA), one of the major structures involved in anxiety. CaL flower aqueous extract (62.5, 125 mg/kg) increased the percentage of time spent in open arms and reduced the percent of time spent in closed arms (p < 0.05). It also reduced locomotor activity at 250 mg/kg (p < 0.05). CaL flower aqueous extract (125, 250 mg/kg) prolonged the duration of pentobarbital sleeping time [(p < 0.05) and (p < 0.01), respectively] and shortened the onset of sleep in rats (p < 0.05). CaL reduced the firing rate of BLA neurons (p < 0.05). Our data suggests that CaL flowers have sedative and anxiolytic effects.

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Acknowledgments

This research was financially supported by grant no. 93-GR-VT-11 of the Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman Research Council.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Basic Sciences, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Sahel Motaghi & Hossein Jonaidi

  2. Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Kerman, Iran

    Mehdi Abbasnejad

  3. Saravan Integrated Education, University of Sistan and Baluchestan, Saravan, Iran

    Manouchehr Usofi

  4. Neurosciences Research Center, Institute of Neuropharmacology, Kerman University of Medical Sciences, Kerman, Iran

    Mohammadreza Afarinesh Khaki & Vahid Sheibani

Authors
  1. Sahel Motaghi
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  2. Hossein Jonaidi
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  3. Mehdi Abbasnejad
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  4. Manouchehr Usofi
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  5. Mohammadreza Afarinesh Khaki
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  6. Vahid Sheibani
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Correspondence to Sahel Motaghi.

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Ethical approval

All experiments in this study were performed in accordance with the guidelines for use of animals in research approved by the Veterinary School of Shahid Bahonar University of Kerman, Iran.

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Motaghi, S., Jonaidi, H., Abbasnejad, M. et al. Behavioral and electrophysiological evidence for attenuation of CNS by aqueous extract from Citrus aurantium (CaL) flowers in rat. Comp Clin Pathol 25, 769–774 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-016-2262-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00580-016-2262-9

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