Neurobehavioural activities of the ethanol leaf extract of calophyllum inophyllum in rodents

Abstract

The present study was designed to investigate the central nervous system activities of the ethanol leaf extract of Calophyllum inophyllum in rodents. Methods: The neurobehavioral tests used include the hole board, open field, elevated plus maze and the light/ dark box tests. The animals were divided into the control (normal saline, 10ml/kg) experimental (50-I50mg/kg) and the reference groups (indomethacin, 1 Omg/kg) after which they were subjected to the above tests. Results: The results showed that in the hole board test, the 100 and 200mg/kg doses resulted in a significant (p< 0.01) reduction in the number of head dips compared with the control, while in the light and dark box test there was a significant (p< 0.01) increase in the time spent in the dark arena compared with the control. The open field test revealed a reduction in the total locomotion compared with the control although not statistically significant, while the time spent in the closed arm increased significantly (p< 0.05) at all doses, the rearing frequencies were significantly (p< 0.05) reduced at all doses, only the 200mg/kg dose reduced the grooming frequencies significantly (p< 0.05). Conclusion: These results suggest that the ethanol leaf extract of Calophyllum inophyllum contains some active principles which may be sedative/ anxiogenic in nature.