Anticonvulsant activities of Sambucus nigra.

Sambucus (S) spp. is reported to possess a variety of activities and has been used in traditional medicine for many years. In spite of CNS activity of this genus, nothing is known about the anticonvulsant activity of S. nigra.

Anticonvulsant activities of methanolic extracts of bark, fruit and leaf of S. nigra at doses of 250, 500 and 1000 mg kg-1 were determined by pentylenetetrazole (PTZ) induced and maximal electroshock (MES) induced convulsions in mice.

Normal saline treated mice showed tonic hind limb extension for a duration of 6.58 ± 1.24 s in MES model. Administration of extracts significantly and dose-dependently increased the delay of the onset of seizures and decreased significantly the duration of tonic hind limb extension. Bark extract at 500 and leaf extract at 1000 mg kg-1 gave 100% protection against seizures. They inhibited induction of convulsion and gave 100% protections against mortality. PTZ (100 mg kg-1) induced tonic seizures in all of the control mice. Pretreatment with leaf extract at 500 and 1000 mg kg-1 significantly decreased duration of tonic hind limb extension (p < 0.05 and p < 0.001).

GABA receptors were involved in epilepsy. Reduction of mortality and increase the onset of convulsion in MES model was comparable with that of diazepam. Extracts might possibly be producing an antiepileptic action by increasing the level of GABA.