title: In vitro study on the interaction of Valeriana officinalis L. extracts and their amino acids on GABAA receptor in rat brain.
abstract: This work studied in vitro the interaction of aqueous and hydroalcoholic extracts of Valeriana officinalis L. and compounds that are present in the extracts (amino acids and valerenic acid) with the GABAA (gamma-aminobutyric acid) receptor, using the [3H] muscimol binding technique to crude synaptic membranes from rat brain cortices. Both extracts displaced [3H]muscimol bound and this effect is probably due only to their amino acid content, specially GABA. This fact explains the in vitro effect of valerian extracts on GABAA receptor but not their sedative effect.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Pharmacology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Coimbra, Portugal.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Cavadas
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Araújo
authors.forename: M D
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Cotrim
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Amaral
authors.forename: A P
authors.initials: AP
authors.lastname: Cunha
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Macedo
authors.forename: C F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Ribeiro
mesh_terms: D000596:Amino Acids / Q000494:pharmacology*; D000818:Animals; D001667:Binding, Competitive / Q000187:drug effects; D001923:Brain Chemistry / Q000187:drug effects*; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D066298:In Vitro Techniques; D009118:Muscimol / Q000378:metabolism; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*; D051381:Rats; D013570:Synaptic Membranes / Q000187:drug effects / Q000378:metabolism
chemical_list: D000596:Amino Acids; D058787:GABA-A Receptor Antagonists; D010936:Plant Extracts; D009118:Muscimol