title: Anticonvulsant activity of Diospyros fischeri root extracts.
abstract: Diospyros fischeri Gurke (Ebenaceae) is used in traditional medicine for the treatment of epilepsy. Dichloromethane, ethylacetate, and ethanol extracts of the roots, at doses between 100 and 1600 mg/kg BW, inhibited convulsions induced by the gamma-aminobutyric acid type A (GABAa) receptor antagonist, pentylenetetrazole (PTZ), in a dose dependent manner. The extracts also exhibited low toxicity against brine shrimps giving LC(50) values between 45.4 and 95.4 microg/ml. These results provide evidence for the potential of D. fischeri extracts to treat absence seizures, especially given their seemingly innocuous nature.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Traditional Medicine, Muhimbili University College of Health Sciences, P.O.Box 65001, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. mmoshi@muchs.ac.tz
authors.forename: Mainen J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Moshi
authors.forename: Zakaria H
authors.initials: ZH
authors.lastname: Mbwambo
authors.forename: Ramadhani S O
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Nondo
authors.forename: Pax J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Masimba
authors.forename: Modest C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Kapingu
authors.forename: Edward S
authors.initials: ES
authors.lastname: Magelewanya