Preliminary Screening of a Classical Ayurvedic Formulation for Anticonvulsant Activity.
BACKGROUND
Epilepsy is a serious and complex central nervous system disorder associated with recurrent episodes of convulsive seizures due to the imbalance between excitatory (glutamatergic) and inhibitory (GABAergic) neurotransmitters level in the brain. The available treatments are neither competent to control the seizures nor prevent progress of disease. Since ages, Herbal medicines have remained important sources of medicines in many parts of world which is evidenced through their uses in traditional systems of medicine i.e. Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani, Homeopathy and Chinese etc.


OBJECTIVE
A polyherbal formulation (containingTerminalia chebulaRetz.,Asparagus racemosusWilld.,Embelia ribesBurm. F,Acorus calamusL.,Tinospora cordifolia(Willd.) Miers,Convolvulus pluricaulisChoisy,Saussurea lappaC.B.Clarke,Achyranthes asperaL.) is mentioned in Ayurvedic classicsBhaiṣajya Ratnāvali. The aim of the study was to evaluate the anticonvulsant activity of the formulation in Maximum electroshock and Pentylenetetrazole induced convulsions in rats.


METHODS
In the present study, a polyherbal formulation was developed as directed by classical text and evaluated for the anticonvulsant activity using Maximal Electroshock Shock (MES) and Pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced convulsions in rats. Statistical comparison was done by one way ANOVA followed by the Tukey's multiple comparison test.


RESULTS
The obtained results showed that the PHF had a protective role on epilepsy. Treatment with PHF significantly improves antioxidant enzymes activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione (GSH) levels significantly as compared to controls. PHF also significantly decreased malonaldialdehyde (MDA) levels in the brain. Moreover, it also attenuated the PTZ-induced increase in the activity of GABA-T in the rat brain.


CONCLUSIONS
These findings suggest that PHF might have possible efficacy in the treatment of epilepsy.
Department of Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Ayurvedic Pharmacy Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Arnab
A
Dhar
Department of Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Ayurvedic Pharmacy Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Santosh Kumar
SK
Maurya
Department of Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Ayurvedic Pharmacy Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ashish
A
Mishra
Department of Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Ayurvedic Pharmacy Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Gireesh Kumar
GK
Singh
Department of Kriya Shareer, Faculty of Ayurveda, Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Manoj Kumar
MK
Singh
Department of Ayurvedic Pharmacy, Ayurvedic Pharmacy Laboratory, Rajiv Gandhi South Campus, Banaras Hindu University, Mirzapur, Uttar Pradesh, India.
Ankit
A
Seth
Antioxidant; Ayurvedic formulation; GABA; epilepsy; pentylenetetrazole