Behavioral Studies on Alkaloids Extracted from the Leaves of Hunteria zeylanica

• Published in: Biological & pharmaceutical bulletin 1996/03/15, Vol.19(3), pp.394-399
• Main Authors: LEEWANICH, Pathama, TOHDA, Michihisa, MATSUMOTO, Kinzo, SUBHADHIRASAKUL, Sanan, TAKAYAMA, Hiromitsu, WATANABE, Hiroshi
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Alkaloids - pharmacology; Alkaloids - toxicity; Animals; Anticonvulsants - pharmacology; Asia; Behavior, Animal - drug effects; Biological and medical sciences; drug-induced convulsion; General pharmacology; Hunteria zeylanica; Hypnotics and Sedatives - pharmacology; locomotor activity; Male; Medical sciences; Mice; Mice, Inbred Strains; Motor Activity - drug effects; Pentobarbital - pharmacology; pentobarbital-induced sleep; Pharmacognosy. Homeopathy. Health food; Pharmacology. Drug treatments; Plant Extracts - pharmacology; Plants, Medicinal - chemistry; rearing; Sleep - drug effects
• ISSN: 0918-6158; 1347-5215
• DOI: 10.1248/bpb.19.394

The effects of a crude methanol extract, butanol- and chloroform-fractions, and a pure compound, corymine, extracted from the leaves of H. zeylanica on locomotor activity and rearing, pentobarbital-induced sleep, and drug-induced convulsions were studied in mice. The methanol extract dose-dependently decreased rearing without a significant effect on locomotor activity at doses of 15, 60 and 120mg/kg. It did not significantly prolong the sleeping time but potentiated the convulsions induced by strychnine, but not that by either picrotoxin or pentylenetetrazole, at a dose of 120mg/kg. The butanol-fraction significantly prolonged sleeping time at a dose of 125mg/kg but did not affect either of the convulsive drugs. The chloroform fraction prolonged sleeping time at doses of 62.5 and 125 mg/kg and potentiated the convulsions induced by either strychnine or picrotoxin, but not that by pentylenetetrazole, at doses of 15, 30, 60 and 120mg/kg. Corymine did not significantly prolong sleeping time, but potentiated the convulsions induced by either strychnine or picrotoxin, not by pentylenetetrazole, at doses of 2, 8 and 15mg/kg. These results suggest that crude alkaloidal extracts of H. zeylanical leaves produce biphasic effects on the central nervous system (CNS), depression and stimulation, while the pure compound, corymine, has a unique central stimulatory effect in mice.