title: A Valepotriate Fraction of Valeriana glechomifolia Shows Sedative and Anxiolytic Properties and Impairs Recognition But Not Aversive Memory in Mice.
abstract: Plants of the genus Valeriana (Valerianaceae) are used in traditional medicine as a mild sedative, antispasmodic and tranquilizer in many countries. This study was undertaken to explore the neurobehavioral effects of systemic administration of a valepotriate extract fraction of known quantitative composition of Valeriana glechomifolia (endemic of southern Brazil) in mice. Adult animals were treated with a single intraperitoneal injection of valepotriate fraction (VF) in the concentrations of 1, 3 or 10 mg kg(-1), or with vehicle in the pre-training period before each behavioral test. During the exploration of an open field, mice treated with 10 mg kg(-1) of VF showed reduced locomotion and exploratory behavior. Although overall habituation sessions for locomotion and exploratory behavior among vehicle control and doses of VF were not affected, comparison between open-field and habituation sessions within each treatment showed that VF administration at 1 and 10 mg kg(-1) impaired habituation. In the elevated plus-maze test, mice treated with VF (10 mg kg(-1)) showed a significant increase in the percentage of time spent in the open arms without significant effects in the number of total arm entries. VF at 3 mg kg(-1) produced an impairment of novel-object recognition memory. In contrast, VF did not affect fear-related memory assessed in an inhibitory avoidance task. The results indicate that VF can have sedative effects and affect behavioral parameters related to recognition memory.
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 91501 970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Institute for Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Natasha
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Maurmann
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 91501 970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Institute for Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gustavo Kellermann
authors.initials: GK
authors.lastname: Reolon
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Pharmacy, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sandra Beatriz
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Rech
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 91501 970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil.
authors.forename: Arthur Germano
authors.initials: AG
authors.lastname: Fett-Neto
authors.affiliation: Graduate Program in Cellular and Molecular Biology, Center for Biotechnology, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, 91501 970 Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil; Laboratory of Molecular Neuropharmacology, Department of Pharmacology, Institute for Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rafael
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Roesler