ABSTRACT
Background: Anxiety has become a very important area of research interest in psychopharmacology as it affects one-eighth of the population worldwide. Benzodiazepines are still the most commonly used drugs for anxiety despite a number of side effects.There is a need for newer antianxiety drugs with increased safety and efficacy, hence this study was undertaken to evaluate the anxiolytic activity of Nerium oleander flowers.Methods: Aqueous extract of Nerium oleander flowers (NA) was prepared using soxhalet apparatus. A total of 24 Albino rats aged 8-10 weeks of either sex weighing about 100-150g were obtained and divided into 4 groups of 6 rats each. Group I: Normal saline 10mL/kg. Group II: Diazepam 2mg/kg Group III: NA at a dose of 200 mg/kg Group IV: NA at a dose of 400mg/kg. The anxiolytic activity of Aqueous extract of NA was tested by elevated plus maze and digital actophotometer models. Data was analysed using one way ANOVA followed by Posthoc Tukey’s test.Results: In EPM model, the NA at 200, 400mg/kg doses showed that the number of entries and time spent in the open arms were increased significantly as compared to the control animals. (p<0.001). In Actophoptometer model, two different doses of NA (200 and 400mg/kg) showed a dose-dependent decrease in the locomotor activity, when compared to the control animals (p<0.001).Conclusions: Both the doses of aqueous extract of Nerium oleander flowers (200mg and 400mg/kg) possess anxiolytic activity and could be used as a new approach to treat anxiety.
ABSTRACT
Background: Dengue is an infectious disease associated with high mortality and morbidity. Being a viral disease, there is no specific drug available for treatment. There are some reports that Carica papaya leaf extract may improve the clinical condition of dengue patients. However, to support this, at present, there is no systematically searched and synthesized evidence available. Hence this study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of commercial preparation of Carica papaya leaves with freshly prepared Carica papaya leaf extracted.Methods: 48 albino rats were randomly divided into eight groups of six each. Thrombocytopenia was induced by giving hydroxyurea (15mg/kg) orally. Group I and II served as saline and toxic control group respectively. Other six groups were given two different doses of either commercial extract or fresh extract orally for five days. 1ml of blood was withdrawn at baseline,3rd and 6th day of the study. Platelet, WBC, RBC count, clotting and bleeding time were determined.Results: Mean platelet count increased significantly on day 6 in both low dose (2.06 to 4.93lakh/mm3) and human equivalent dose (2.73 to 7.66lakh/mm3) of commercial extract groups compared to the toxic control group (p<0.05). Similarly, the mean platelet count increased significantly for human equivalent dose in fresh leaf extract group (3.17 to 4.69lakh/mm3) but the increase in low dose fresh extract (3.28 to 3.76lakh/mm3) was not significant. There was no significant rise in mean platelets count, mean RBC count, WBC count, decrease in mean bleeding and clotting time between commercial extract and fresh leaf extract group for both low dose and human equivalent dose.Conclusions: Efficacy of fresh leaf extract of Carica papaya was not inferior to commercial available preparation. Fresh Carica papaya leaf extract no doubt offers a potential therapeutic efficacy which is cost effective, more affordable and accessible treatment in patients with thrombocytopenia.