Document Type : Original Article
Authors
1 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, College of Health Sciences, Enugu State University of Science and Technology, Parklane, Enugu, Nigeria
2 Department of Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Faculty of Clinical Medicine, College of Health Sciences, Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, Nigeria
Abstract
Objective: Newbouldia laevis Seem, is an ubiquitous perennial plant belonging to the family Bignoniaceae with varying applicability in ethnomedicine. Methods: The anticonvulsant effect of the aqueous extracts of root and stem bark preparations was undertaken using standard techniques. Results: Results showed that the LD50 in mice was 489.8mg/kg body weight while 5.6mg/kg body weight protected mice against death due to minimum dose of leptazole which caused 100% mortality. The therapeutic index for N. laevis was 87.2 and its safety factor was 1.5. The extract of N. laevis appears to be more effective against drug-induced convulsion than electroshock seizures because the ED50 in metrazol test (5.6mg/kg body weight was significantly lower than the ED50 in MES test (63.1mg/kg body weight). We conclude that N. laevis is safe and will offer maximal benefit to patients suffering from seizures.
Keywords
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