Browsing by Author "OLANIPEKUN, Olaitan Jibola"

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    Neuropharmacological And Nutritive Potentials Of Synsepalum Dulcificum Seeds In Mice
    (2014) OLANIPEKUN, Olaitan Jibola
    This study investigated the neuropharmacological potentials and the neuronal mechanism of action of the seed extract of Synsepalum dulcificum and determined the nutritive contents of its seed. This was with a view to providing information on the possible health benefits and the central nervous system effects of the seed. The seeds obtained from ripe berries of authenticated S. dulcificum plant, were oven dried, powdered and divided into two portions. The first portion was extracted with methanol and partitioned into aqueous and ethyl acetate fractions. The methanol extract (MeOH) and aqueous fraction (AF) were used for neuropharmacological studies. The other portion was used for investigation of the nutritive potentials of the seed. The oral (p.o.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) LD50 of MeOH and AF were determined in mice. The MeOH (2.5-20 mg/kg) and AF (0.15-1.20 mg/kg, i.p.) were evaluated for their effects on novelty-induced behaviours (NIBs) such as Open-field locomotion (OFL), rearing and grooming in mice. The AF was also investigated for exploratory and anxiolytic (hole-board and elevated T-maze tests) effects; anticonvulsant [pentylenetetrazole (PTZ)-, strychnine- and Maximal Electroshock (MES)-induced seizure tests] and antipsychotic (swim-induced grooming and apomorphine-induced stereotypy tests) potentials. Some antagonists (atropine, flumazenil, naloxone, yohimbine and cyproheptadine) were employed to elucidate the mechanism (s) of AF-induced inhibition of NIBs. Proximate and micronutrient composition of the seeds were determined. The results obtained were subjected to one way ANOVA followed by Student-Newman-Keuls test and Kruscal-Wallis followed by Dunn’s post-hoc tests for apomorphine-induced stereotypy. The result obtained showed that MeOH and AF both have p.o. LD50 of 2154.07 mg/kg while the i.p. LD50 was found to be 94.87 and 3.54 mg/kg respectively. The MeOH caused a dose-dependent reduction in NIBs and AF caused a non-dose dependent reduction in OFL and rearing at all the doses used, compared with saline control. The AF significantly (p < 0.05) increased the number of head dips in mice at 0.15 and 0.6 mg/kg, compared to normal saline. The AF also gave 33.33% protection against mortality in PTZ- and strychnine-induced convulsion tests and caused a dose dependent reduction in the time of recovery of the animals from MES-induced seizure. A significant (p < 0.05) reduction in the duration and frequency of swim-induced grooming in mice was observed with AF at the least and highest doses used. The AF-induced inhibition of OFL was completely reversed by yohimbine and partially reversed by flumazenil, suggesting the involvement of α2-adrenergic receptors and GABA-BDZ receptor pathway in the mechanism of action of AF. The seed was found to have moisture content (38.08%), crude protein (19.47%), crude fat (11.94%), total carbohydrate (29.08%), crude fibre (0.66%) and ash (1.43%). It contains 569.500 ± 2.820, 72.170 ± 5.340, 25.000 ± 0.000 and 17.630 ± 0.390 mg/100 g of K, Ca, Na and Mg respectively, among other mineral elements and 27.310 ± 2.826 mg/100 g of ascorbic acid. This study concluded that the methanol extract and the aqueous fraction of S. ducificum seed extract possessed CNS depressant effect and that the seed may be a potential source of macronutrients and micronutrients.