ABSTRACT
Pentobarbitone-induced hypnosis test was used as an animal model to explore the role of BR-16A, a polyherbal formulation in sleep. Pentobarbitone produces quick sleep latency (onset) and prolongation of total sleep time (duration). Sleep latency and total sleep time were used as a parameters for the evaluation. BR-16A potentiated the effect of triazolam (0.1 mg/kg, ip) and alprazolam (0.25 mg/kg, ip). Melatonin (5.0 mg/kg, ip) and zolpidem (0.5 mg/kg, ip) did not produce any significant effect on sleep parameters. However, alprazolam (0.25mg/kg, ip) potentiated the effect of BR-16A (100 mg/ kg, po) in higher dose only. Sleep promoting effect of BR-16A in combination with GABAergic drugs (triazolam and alprazolam,) suggested that these drugs have common mechanism in sleep promoting effect of pentobarbitone and could be used along with other GABAergic hypnotics for the treatment of insomnia. This may reduce the dose of the latter drug(s). BR-16A can be used for the treatment of sleep and sleep-related disorders.
Subject(s)
Alprazolam/pharmacology , Animals , Dose-Response Relationship, Drug , Drug Interactions , Female , GABA Agonists/pharmacology , GABA Modulators/chemistry , Hypnosis , Hypnotics and Sedatives/pharmacology , Male , Medicine, Ayurvedic , Melatonin/pharmacology , Mice , Plant Extracts/pharmacology , Pyridines/pharmacology , Sleep/drug effects , Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders , Time Factors , Triazolam/pharmacologyABSTRACT
1. Dose-equivalence studies of zopiclone and triazolam were out. 2. Zopiclone (6.25, 8.75 and 11.25 mg), triazolam (0.1875, 0.275 and 0.5 mg) and placebo were given in the morining to 14 healty male volinteers aged 20-25 years under double-blind conditions according to an incomplete block design. Each patient received three of the seven possible treatment at intervals of at least 1 week. Subjects were evaluated using physiological measures, rating scales and memory taskes before and 1.5h after drug administration. 3. The sedative and amnestic effects of zopiclone were qualitatively similar to those of triazolam, with the highest dose of each havin the greatest effect. 4. On the basis of the digit symbol substitution test, 10 mg of zopiclone is equivalent to 0.5 mg of triazolam. Methodological problems of the experimetnal design of dose-equivalence studies are discussed