title: Effect of BR-16A (Mentat), a polyherbal formulation on drug-induced catalepsy in mice.
abstract: Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disease characterized by the selective loss of dopamine (DA) neurons of the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc). The events, which trigger and/or mediate the loss of nigral DA neurons, however, remain unclear. Neuroleptic-induced catalepsy has long been used as an animal model for screening drugs for Parkinsonism. Administration of haloperidol (1 mg/kg, ip) or reserpine (2 mg/kg, ip) significantly induced catalepsy in mice. BR-16A (50 and 100 mg/kg, po), a polyherbal formulation or ashwagandha (50 and 100 mg/kg, po), significantly reversed the haloperidol or reserpine-induced catalepsy. The results indicate that BR-16A or ashwagandha has protective effect against haloperidol or reserpine-induced catalepsy and provide hope that BR-16A could be used in preventing the drug-induced extrapyramidal side effects and may offer a new therapeutic approach to the treatment of Parkinson's disease.
authors.affiliation: University Institute of Pharmaceutical Science, Panjab University, Chandigarh 160 014, India.
authors.forename: Anil
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kumar
authors.forename: S K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Kulkarni
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002375:Catalepsy / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy*; D005260:Female; D006220:Haloperidol / Q000633:toxicity; D008297:Male; D008515:Medicine, Ayurvedic; D051379:Mice; D020734:Parkinsonian Disorders / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000188:drug therapy; D008517:Phytotherapy; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D010946:Plants, Medicinal; D012110:Reserpine / Q000633:toxicity; D032341:Withania
chemical_list: C074754:Mentat; D010936:Plant Extracts; D012110:Reserpine; D006220:Haloperidol; C030693:Ashwagandha