title: Screening of traditionally used Lebanese herbs for neurological activities.
abstract: In the recent decades the use of traditional medicine in Lebanon has increased. Aqueous, ethanol and ethyl acetate extracts of seven Lebanese plants that are used traditionally for neurological disorders as Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy and affective disorders as depression were tested for inhibition of acetylcholinesterase and affinity to the GABA(A)-benzodiazepine site and to the serotonin transporter. Ethyl acetate extracts of Salvia triloba, Lavandula officinalis, Origanum syriacum and Artemisia herba-alba exhibited weak activity in the acetylcholinesterase assay. None of the plants were active in the serotonin transporter assay. An ethanolic extract of Artemisia herba-alba had good affinity to the GABA(A)-benzodiazepine receptor site; ethanolic extracts of Melissa officinalis and Salvia triloba had moderate activity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicinal Chemistry, The Danish University of Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2 Universitetsparken, 2100 Copenhagen O, Denmark.
authors.forename: Sam Medhat
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Salah
authors.forename: Anna Katharina
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Jäger
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000378:metabolism / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004353:Drug Evaluation, Preclinical / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007861:Lebanon; D008519:Medicine, Traditional; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins / Q000378:metabolism; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins / Q000378:metabolism; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000378:metabolism; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods*; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000627:therapeutic use; D011485:Protein Binding / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D051381:Rats; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A / Q000378:metabolism; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins
chemical_list: D002800:Cholinesterase Inhibitors; D008562:Membrane Glycoproteins; D026901:Membrane Transport Proteins; D009419:Nerve Tissue Proteins; D010936:Plant Extracts; D011963:Receptors, GABA-A; C493230:SLC6A4 protein, human; D050486:Serotonin Plasma Membrane Transport Proteins; C493232:Slc6a4 protein, rat