Abstract

Anticonvulsant Activity of Ethanolic Extract of Clerodendrum infortunatum linn in Rats

Author(s): Anand Kale and Yasmeen A. Maniyar

: Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn. (Verbenaceae) is an important and widely used medicinal plant in Indian folk medicine in the treatment of bronchitis, asthma, fever, diseases of the blood, inflammation, burning sensation and epilepsy. This study evaluates the anticonvulsant effect of the ethanolic extract of the leaves of Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn. (EECI) in experimental animals. Acute toxicity test for the EECI was done according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) guidelines. Following the Phytochemical analysis of the plant extract for specific plant constituents, the anticonvulsant effect of EECI (100mg/kg, 200mg/kg and 300mg/kg b.w i.p) was evaluated against Maximum electroshock (MES) induced convulsions using phenobarbitone (10mg/kg b.w) as the reference drug. EECI (400mg/kg b.w i.p) significantly delayed (p<0.01) the onset and antagonized MES-induced seizures. The anticonvulsant activity exhibited by the plant extract could be attributed to the saponin constituent. Clerodendrum infortunatum Linn. as a commercial source of anticonvulsant drug needs to be subjected to further research.

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