A STUDY ON NEUROLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF VITEX NEGUNDO LINN.

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to evaluate antioxidant and anticonvulsant activity and to establish relation between two. The putative anti- convulsant activity of essential oils and ethanolic extracts of fruits, flowers, leaves and roots of Vitex negundo was evaluated using maximal electroshock seizures and pentylenetetrazole methods while antioxidant potential was studied using DPPH and ferric reducing assay. Ethanolic extracts of fruits, leaves, flowers and roots abolished tonic MES-induced convulsions in 40 % of test animals and reduced the mortality rate to 50 %. The leaves extract at the doses of 250 and 500 mg/kg p.o. produced significant decrease in duration of clonic phase and abolished the clonic phase in 60 % and 70 % of animals respectively in PTZ model. The simultaneous administration of ethanolic extract of leaves and fruit with diazepam at sub-protective doses abolished clonic phase duration significantly. Antioxidant studies showed that most of essential oils and ethanolic extracts of V. negundo showed significant antioxidant activity in both DPPH and ferric reducing power methods. The essential oils of leaves, flower and dry fruit showed significant antioxidant activity along with methanolic and ethanolic extract of leaves. So, it is concluded that essential oils as well as extracts especially leaves have strong antioxidant potential. These results indicate that V. negundo may be further explored for their use as effective anticonvulsant, which may be attributed to antioxidant properties.