Abstract
Sclerocarya birrea (A.Rich.) Hochst. subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro (family: Anacardiaceae) is traditionally used in South African folk medicine for the treatment, management and control of a variety of human ailments, including childhood convulsions and epilepsy. In the present study, we have investigated the anticonvulsant activity of the plant’s stem-bark aqueous extract (SBE) against pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-, picrotoxin (PCT)-, and bicuculline (BCL)-induced seizures in mice. Phenobarbital and diazepam were used as reference anticonvulsant drugs for comparison. Like the reference anticonvulsant agents used, S. birrea SBE (100–800 mg/kg p.o.) significantly (P<0.05–0.001) delayed the onset of, and inhibited, PTZ-induced seizures. The plant extract (SBE, 100–800 mg/kg p.o.) also markedly inhibited PCT-induced seizures, but only weakly inhibited BCL-induced seizures. In general, the average onset of convulsion was delayed or inhibited, while the average duration of convulsion was not significantly altered (P>0.05). The plant extract also depressed the central nervous system. In conclusion, the findings of the present experimental animal study indicate that S. birrea SBE possesses anticonvulsant activity, thus lending pharmacological support to the suggested folkloric, ethnomedical uses of the plant extract in the management, control, and treatment of childhood convulsions and epilepsy in some rural communities of South Africa.
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Acknowledgements
The author is thankful to Prof. H. Baijnath for the identification of Sclerocarya birrea stem-bark used in this study, to Prof. C.O. Adewunmi for his valuable comments, to Dr. E.K. Mutenda for her assistance in the extraction processes, and to Ms K. Moodley for her technical assistance.
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Ojewole, J.A.O. Anticonvulsant effect of Sclerocarya birrea (A. Rich.) Hochst. subsp. caffra (Sond.) Kokwaro (Anacardiaceae) stem-bark aqueous extract in mice. J Nat Med 61, 67–72 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-006-0020-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11418-006-0020-z